The gene is known as ADAM33, a member of the protease sub-family known as metal loproteases. It was identified through genetic screening of a large number of families from the United States and the United Kingdom.

According to Genome Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company that involved in the study, researchers amassed clinical information and biological samples from over 450 families that suffered from the disease. Using the samples obtained, the company employed its proprietary disease-specific gene identification platform to identify candidate genes linked to an increased likelihood of suffering from asthma. The other two institutions in the study are the University of South ampton in the UK and research-based company Schering-Plough.

The researchers found that rather than the allergic and immunological components that contribute to asthma, genetic analyses suggest that ADAM33 is involved in the generation of bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR). The association of this gene with BHR and possible links with airway remodeling offers new avenues of research into the underlying causes of asthma.

Furthermore, discovery of susceptibility genes for asthma offers the possibility in the future of identifying those individuals who are predisposed to asthma and initiating therapy early to prevent or ameliorate the disease process before permanent changes occur.

Asthma affects an estimated 14.9 million people in the United States and direct economic and health care costs associated with the disease are nearly US$14.5 billion per year, according to Genome Therapeutics. In the United Kingdom, an estimated 5.1 million -- 1in 8 children and 1in 13adults -- are currently being treated for the disease.

(eastday.com July 11, 2002)