Epigenetic changes during pregnancy contribute to asthma

Asthma is a chronic condition that affects 25 million people. Having a mother with asthma is an important risk factor and a new study may explain why. A team of researchers have found striking epigenetic differences in the airway cells of patients with asthma who have asthmatic mothers, compared to patients whose mothers never had asthma. The research was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In the study, the team found different DNA methylation patterns in epithelial cells of the lower airways of asthmatic adults with asthmatic mothers compared to those whose mothers did not have asthma. Epigenetics refers to changes in how genes are expressed that are not directed by changes or mutations in the DNA sequence itself.

Many environmental factors are known to impact DNA methylation patterns, including the in-utero environment.

The results hence suggested that an underlying cause is due to impaired immune responses, potentially explaining lack of therapeutic response to corticosteroids and suggesting alternative pathways to target as therapies for this group of patients.