NLRP3 rs1539019 is significantly associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a Chinese Han population: a case-control study

Z.-F. Hou, Z.-H. Yuan, K. Chang, Y.-H. Cao, F.-X. Guan, Y. Gao

Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Sinopharm Tongmei General Hospital, Datong, China. tmzyyhx@163.com

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• Genetics
• Respiratory Medicine

OBJECTIVE: COPD is a complex respiratory disease characterized by chronic airway inflammation and the airflow limitations are not fully reversible due to the combination of genetic and environmental factors. Genetic factors such as polymorphisms, may affect the susceptibility of COPD. In the present study, we examined the association between the polymorphisms of three genes and COPD risk in a Chinese Han population.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 375 COPD patients and 284 control subjects were recruited from November 2018 to June 2021. Data on demographic basic information, smoking status, history of coal dust exposure, and peripheral blood were collected from subjects of two groups. Three polymorphisms (NLRP3 rs1539019, LAMB1 rs4320486,  IL-6 rs1800796) were analyzed. Logistic analysis was used to evaluate the genetic contribution of selected SNPs to COPD susceptibility.

RESULTS: The AC genotype of NLRP3 rs1539019 significantly decreased COPD risk compared with CC genotype (adjusted OR = 0.508, 95% CI 0.336-0.767). In the stratification analyses, the AC genotype significantly decreased the risk of COPD in subjects aged 60 and over (p=0.005; adjusted OR = 0.553; 95% CI 0.366-0.835) with current smoking status (p=0.002; adjusted OR = 0.419; 95% CI 0.240-0.732) when compared with AA+CC genotype. Moreover, a significantly decreased risk for GOLD III COPD was found in genotype AC of NLRP3 rs1539019 (p=0.006; adjusted OR = 0.502; 95% CI 0.306-0.822).

CONCLUSIONS: Our present study revealed that the genotype AC of NLRP3 rs1539019 is related to a decreased risk of COPD in a Chinese Han population, a large-sample, multi-center, multi-ethnic study is needed to further confirm our study.

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