Contribution of alpha- and beta-defensins to lung function decline and infection in smokers: an association study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Alpha-defensins, which are major constituents of neutrophil azurophilic granules, and beta-defensins, which are expressed in airway epithelial cells, could contribute to the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by amplifying cigarette smoke-induced and infection-induced inflammatory reactions leading to lung injury. In Japanese and Chinese populations, two different beta-defensin-1 polymorphisms have been associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease phenotypes. We conducted population-based association studies to test whether alpha-defensin and beta-defensin polymorphisms influenced smokers' susceptibility to lung function decline and susceptibility to lower respiratory infection in two groups of white participants in the Lung Health Study (275

SUBMITTER: Wallace AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1523340 | biostudies-literature | 2006 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature