New Genetic Risk Factors Identified for Peanut Allergy
|
By LabMedica International staff writers Posted on 25 Oct 2017 |
|
Image: Whole genome genotyping arrays are an important tool for discovering variants that contribute to human disease (Photo courtesy of Megan Smolenyak, MBA).
Peanut allergy develops in early life and is rarely outgrown. Roughly 1% of Canadian adults and between 2% and 3% of Canadian children are affected, and the symptoms can be severe and even life threatening.
A new gene associated with peanut allergy has been revealed, offering further evidence that genes play a role in the development of food allergies and opening the door to future studies, improved diagnostics and new treatment options.
An international team of scientists collaborating with those at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC, Canada) scanned more than 7.5 million genetic locations in the DNA of 850 people with peanut allergy and nearly 1,000 people without it, through a genome-wide association study (GWAS), to search for markers that might be linked to food allergy. They recruited the peanut allergy participants from the Canadian Peanut Allergy Registry. The team also conducted a fresh analysis of results pooled from six other genetic studies of populations in North America, Australia, Germany, and the Netherlands. Genotyping of 1,974 individuals (987 cases, 987 controls) was conducted on the Illumina Omni 2.5M+Exome 8v1.1 chip.
The scientists reported that their study is the first to associate the EMSY, BRCA2 Interacting Transcriptional Repressor (EMSY) locus with food allergy, and these findings suggest that the gene plays an important role in the development of not just food allergy but also general allergic predisposition. The gene, called c11orf30/EMSY (EMSY), is already known to play a role in other allergy-related conditions, such as eczema, asthma, and allergic rhinitis. The team also found evidence that five other genetic locations might be involved.
Denise Daley, PhD, an associate professor and senior author of the study, said, “Food allergy is the result of both genetic and environmental factors, but there are surprisingly few data regarding the genetic basis of this condition. The discovery of this genetic link gives us a fuller picture of the causes of food allergies, and this could eventually help doctors identify children at risk.” The study was published on November 10, 2017, in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
Related Links:
University of British Columbia
.jpg)
A new gene associated with peanut allergy has been revealed, offering further evidence that genes play a role in the development of food allergies and opening the door to future studies, improved diagnostics and new treatment options.
An international team of scientists collaborating with those at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC, Canada) scanned more than 7.5 million genetic locations in the DNA of 850 people with peanut allergy and nearly 1,000 people without it, through a genome-wide association study (GWAS), to search for markers that might be linked to food allergy. They recruited the peanut allergy participants from the Canadian Peanut Allergy Registry. The team also conducted a fresh analysis of results pooled from six other genetic studies of populations in North America, Australia, Germany, and the Netherlands. Genotyping of 1,974 individuals (987 cases, 987 controls) was conducted on the Illumina Omni 2.5M+Exome 8v1.1 chip.
The scientists reported that their study is the first to associate the EMSY, BRCA2 Interacting Transcriptional Repressor (EMSY) locus with food allergy, and these findings suggest that the gene plays an important role in the development of not just food allergy but also general allergic predisposition. The gene, called c11orf30/EMSY (EMSY), is already known to play a role in other allergy-related conditions, such as eczema, asthma, and allergic rhinitis. The team also found evidence that five other genetic locations might be involved.
Denise Daley, PhD, an associate professor and senior author of the study, said, “Food allergy is the result of both genetic and environmental factors, but there are surprisingly few data regarding the genetic basis of this condition. The discovery of this genetic link gives us a fuller picture of the causes of food allergies, and this could eventually help doctors identify children at risk.” The study was published on November 10, 2017, in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
Related Links:
University of British Columbia
New
Gold Member
Clinical Chemistry Assay
Sorbitol Dehydrogenase (SDH)
New
Gold Member
Automatic Hematology Analyzer
CF9600
New
Automated Clinical Chemistry Analyzer
Envoy 500+
New
Japanese Encephalitis Test
Japanese Encephalitis Virus Real Time PCR Kit
Latest Molecular Diagnostics News
- CE-Marked Blood Test Enables Monitoring of Neuroinflammation in Multiple Sclerosis
- Urine-Based Assay Predicts Severe Dengue Risk Early
- Ultrasensitive Assay Tracks Resistance Mutations MRD Monitoring
- FDA Clears At-Home HPV Test with Extended Genotyping for Cervical Screening
- Extracellular Vesicle RNA Biomarkers Enable Noninvasive IBD Diagnosis and Monitoring
- New Gene Signature Reveals Underdiagnosed Lung Cancer Subtype
- Genome Sequencing Identifies Noncoding Variants Causing Neonatal Diabetes
- Genetic Markers Predict GLP-1 Weight-Loss Response and Side Effects
- Noninvasive Urine Test Predicts Recurrence After BCG in Bladder Cancer
- Mesothelioma in Younger Adults Linked to Genetic Risk Factors
- Genetic Marker Predicts Early Heart Failure in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
- Immune Signatures in Blood Help Inform Cancer Risk in Lynch Syndrome
- Simple Blood Test Enables Multi-Disease Detection from Single Sample
- Rapid Point-of-Care RT-PCR Test Differentiates Influenza A/B and SARS-CoV-2 in Minutes
- Blood-Based ctDNA Test Enhances Risk Assessment in HPV-Related Throat Cancer
- WGS MCED Assay Demonstrates Rising Sensitivity and High Specificity
Channels
Clinical Chemistry
view channel
Blood Test Predicts Alzheimer Disease Risk Before Imaging Changes and Symptoms
Alzheimer's disease often advances silently for years, making timely risk stratification difficult in routine practice. Current approaches to detect pathology can involve lumbar puncture or positron emission... Read more
Study Finds ApoB Testing More Effective Than LDL for Guiding Lipid Therapy
Routine blood tests that measure low-density lipoprotein (LDL), commonly known as “bad” cholesterol, are widely used to guide lipid-lowering therapy, but they do not always provide a complete picture of... Read more
AI-Enabled POC Test Quantifies Multiple Cardiac Biomarkers
Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of death, responsible for nearly 20 million deaths each year. Timely triage of myocardial infarction and heart failure hinges on rapid cardiac biomarker measurement,... Read more
Next Generation Automated Analyzers Increase Throughput for Clinical Chemistry and Electrolyte Testing
Clinical laboratories continue to face staffing shortages, limited space, and growing test volumes that pressure chemistry and electrolyte workflows. Maintaining rapid turnaround times increasingly depends... Read moreMolecular Diagnostics
view channel
Urine-Based Assay Predicts Severe Dengue Risk Early
Dengue is among the most widespread mosquito-borne infections, yet early risk stratification can be difficult when symptoms overlap with other febrile illnesses. Only about 2% to 5% of patients develop... Read more
CE-Marked Blood Test Enables Monitoring of Neuroinflammation in Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis affects more than 2.9 million people worldwide and requires ongoing evaluation of disease activity to guide care. Routine monitoring often depends on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI),... Read more
Ultrasensitive Assay Tracks Resistance Mutations MRD Monitoring
Ultrasensitive circulating tumor DNA assessment is being applied to predict and track response to immunotherapy and to detect relapse across multiple solid tumors. Monitoring resistance mutations such... Read more
Extracellular Vesicle RNA Biomarkers Enable Noninvasive IBD Diagnosis and Monitoring
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, relapsing gastrointestinal condition whose incidence is rising in industrialized and newly industrialized countries, with prevalence in early‑industrialized... Read moreHematology
view channel
Routine Blood Test Parameters Link Anemia to Cancer Risk and Mortality
Anemia detected in routine care can signal underlying pathology and is frequently encountered in adults. Because it is defined by hemoglobin levels below the normal range, it is often evaluated with red... Read more
Prognostic Tool Guides Personalized Treatment in Rare Blood Cancer
Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) is a rare blood cancer in which acquired genetic mutations in bone marrow stem cells drive disease. Stem cell transplantation is the only curative option but carries... Read more
Microbiology
view channel
Syndromic Panel Enables Rapid Identification of Bloodstream Infections
Bloodstream infections require rapid identification of causative pathogens and resistance determinants to guide therapy, yet laboratories often face pressure to deliver clinically relevant results quickly... Read more
RNA-Based Workflow Identifies Active Skin Microbes for Dermatology Research
Human skin carries diverse microbial communities that influence barrier function and inflammation, yet identifying which organisms are metabolically active has been challenging. DNA-based surveys catalog... Read more
Cost-Effective Sampling and Sequencing Workflow Identifies ICU Infection Hotspots
Intensive care units face persistent threats from hospital-acquired infections, increasingly driven by drug-resistant bacteria. Rapidly pinpointing environmental reservoirs and transmission hotspots remains... Read more
Pathology
view channel
Biomarker Predicts Immunotherapy Response and Prognosis in Colorectal Cancer
Colorectal cancer is common and often lethal, and therapeutic decision-making is complicated by heterogeneous tumor microenvironments. Immunotherapy benefits only a small subset of patients, around 5%,... Read more
AI Improves Completeness of Complex Cancer Pathology Reports
Oncology teams increasingly rely on pathology reports that integrate histopathology, immunohistochemistry, and rapidly expanding biomarker testing. As patients live longer and undergo repeated analyses... Read more
AI Tool Predicts Chemotherapy Response in Small Cell Lung Cancer
Small cell lung cancer often presents at an extensive stage and progresses rapidly, leaving little time to tailor first-line therapy. Clinicians currently lack biomarkers to guide which patients will benefit... Read more_image.png "Image: Through neoadjuvant therapy combining chemotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) for 46 LAGC patients and single-cell transcriptome sequencing, researchers found that tumor cells in the treatment-sensitive group specifically upregulated MHC-II (tumor-specific major histocompatibility complex class II, tsMHC-II) molecules (photo courtesy of Science China Press)")
Tumor-Specific Biomarker Predicts Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy Response in Gastric Cancer
Gastric cancer is the fifth most common malignancy and the fourth leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide, with China bearing nearly half of the global burden. Only a subset of patients benefit from... Read moreTechnology
view channel
Integrated System Streamlines Pre-Analytical Workflow for Molecular Testing
Pre-analytical variation remains a leading source of inconsistent molecular test results and added costs, particularly when laboratories rely on multiple instruments and protocols. Standardizing nucleic... Read more
Noninvasive Sputum Test Detects Early Lung Cancer
Early detection remains critical for improving outcomes in lung cancer, yet clinicians increasingly encounter indeterminate pulmonary nodules found incidentally or through screening, complicating decision-making.... Read more
New AI Tool Enables Rapid Treatment Selection in Pediatric Leukemia
Children with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia face an aggressive disease that remains difficult to treat. Although remission rates have improved, many survivors experience long-term effects from intensive... Read more
Breakthrough Mass Spectrometry Design Could Enable Ultra-Low Abundance Detection
Mass spectrometry is central to identifying and quantifying molecules in complex biological samples, but conventional instruments typically analyze ions sequentially, which can limit detection of rare species.... Read moreIndustry
view channel
Beckman Coulter Gains CE Mark for Rapid Assay Distinguishing Bacterial vs Viral Infections
Clinicians often struggle to distinguish bacterial from viral infections at first presentation because symptoms overlap and definitive culture or molecular results can take hours or days.... Read more
