(Chest. 2003;123:375S.)
© 2003
American College of Chest Physicians
ß2-Adrenergic Receptor Polymorphisms in Children With Status Asthmaticus*
Saeed Binaei, BS;
Michael Christensen, PhD;
Cathy Murphy, RN;
Qing Zhang, BS and
Michael Quasney, MD, PhD
* From the Departments of Clinical Pharmacy (Mr. Binaei and Dr. Christensen) and Pediatrics (Mr. Zhang and Dr. Quasney), Children's Foundation Research Center, University of Tennessee, Memphis, TN; LeBonheur Children's Medical Center (Ms. Murphy), Memphis, TN.
Correspondence to: Michael Quasney, MD, PhD, College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, 50 North Dunlap, Memphis, TN 38103; e-mail: mquasney{at}utmem.edu
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Introduction
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Genetic polymorphisms within the gene coding for the ß2-adrenergic receptor have been identified that influence cell signaling and down-regulation. The Gly/Gly polymorphism at position 16 is associated with increased airway hyperactivity, while the Glu/Glu polymorphism at position 27 is associated with decreased airway hyperactivity. We tested the hypothesis that children with status asthmaticus have genetic polymorphisms that are associated with increased airway hyperactivity.
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Materials and Methods
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Blood samples were obtained from children with exacerbations of asthma. Genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction amplification and restriction enzyme digestion. Genotypic frequencies were determined and compared with samples from healthy control subjects. Statistical analysis was performed using 
2 analysis.
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Results
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Thirty-eight children with status asthmaticus were enrolled into the study. The frequencies of the polymorphic sites at amino acid positions 16 and 27 in the ß2-adrenergic receptor are shown below. The frequency of the Gly/Gly polymorphism at position 16 was significantly lower in children with status asthmaticus when compared with that of a healthy control group (0.184 vs 0.348, respectively; p < 0.05) [Table 1
].
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Conclusions
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Children with status asthmaticus have a lower frequency of the Gly/Gly polymorphism at amino acid position 16 in the ß2-adrenergic receptor. Further study is warranted because of the small number of children with asthma who have been evaluated thus far and the wide variety of polymorphisms that may play a role.
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Introduction
Materials and Methods
