Scientists discover genetic profile of an often-misdiagnosed chronic allergic disease o...( the disease--at up to more than 100-fo...),Health

the disease--at up to more than 100-fold greater amounts in EE than controls. Eotaxin-3, a factor released from certain cells and tissues, acts to attract circulating eosinophils, yet no one had previously observed that the local levels of eotaxin-3 correlated directly with the number of eosinophils in the esophagus.

In their paper, Dr. Rothenberg and his colleagues also demonstrated that, in a mouse model of EE, mice lacking receptors for eotaxin were protected against developing EE. These results, when taken with those of the human studies, suggest that a drug to block eotaxin-3 might have therapeutic value. Finally, by sequencing the eotaxin-3 genes of all the people in their study, the investigators identified certain genetic variations known as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)--particular spots within the DNA sequence of the gene where a single base of DNA may vary from person to person. One particular SNP in the gene appears to occur more frequently in patients with EE than in controls, and, if this is confirmed, SNPs may provide a way to determine if people are at risk for EE.

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Contact: Jason Socrates Bardi
jbardi@niaid.nih.gov
301-402-1663
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
1-Feb-2006

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