Gene-Environment InteractionsRole in the Modulation of Pulmonary and Autoimmune Disease Risks
Summary
It is well established that the environment can have a profound effect on gene expression. Classical examples are the influence of temperature on sex in some reptiles and colouring in Siamese cats. An active area of medical research is the respective contributions of genes and the environment in common complex... read morediseases and therapeutic intervention.
Several common pulmonary diseases, such as asthma, COPD and pneumoconiosis, as well as autoimmune diffuse connective tissue diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE; lupus) and systemic sclerosis (scleroderma, progressive systemic sclerosis), are thought to involve both genes influencing susceptibility and, environmental factors. In addition, disease susceptibility and expression for these and other groups of diseases may display significant racial and ethnic variation in human populations.