Background: The etiology and pathogenesis of bronchial asthma remain unclear. This study is to investigate the risk factors related to bronchial asthma onset in children from genetics and immunology and preliminarily reveal the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma in children.
Methods: Real-time quantitative PCR was adopted to detect the expression level of TRPV1 gene and mRNA and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method to the total immunoglobulin E level and levels of IL-4, IL-5, and IFN-γ in serum in peripheral venous blood for children in two groups. Logistic regression analysis was applied to analyze the most essential factors inducing bronchial asthma in children.
Results: The mRNA level of TRPV1 in peripheral blood in the case group was higher than that in the control group (P < 0.01). The levels of IL-4, IL-5, and eosinophils in serum in the case group were markedly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.01), while IFN-γ level in the case group was lower than that in the control group (P < 0.01). The results of logistic regression analysis indicated that TRPV1 expression level, IL-4 level, and rs4790522 site mutation were the main risk factors inducing bronchial asthma in children.
Conclusion: The levels of TRPV1 gene expression and Th1/Th2 cytokines have a close relationship with asthma onset in children, which provides theoretical evidences for molecular targeted treatment in children with bronchial asthma.