Association between FcεRIβ and IFN-γ Polymorphisms and Asthma in Asian Population: a Meta-Analysis

Polymorphisms in the β subunit of the high affinity receptor for IgE (FcεRIβ) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) genes may influence the risk of asthma. However, the results in Asian population are still debatable. We performed a meta-analysis to ascertain the association between the FcεRIβ E237G, FcεRIβ -109C/T, and IFN-γ 874T/A polymorphisms and asthma in an Asian population. Databases including PubMed, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Weipu, and Wan Fang (Chinese) databases were searched to find the relevant studies. The effect summary odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated. There was no significant difference in dominant model and allele model (EG + GG vs. EE: or = 1.14, 95%CI = 0.94-1.40; G vs. E: or = 1.13, 95%CI = 0.95-1.34) for FcεRIβ E237G, and no significant association was observed in the subgroup analysis by age and atopic status. A significantly decreased risk of asthma was observed in allelic model (C vs. T: OR=0.88, 95%CI=0.80-0.98) for FcεRIβ -109C/T, significant association was found in dominant model (AT+TT vs. AA: OR=0.56, 95% CI=0.33-0.97) for IFN-γ 874T/A. This meta-analysis suggested that FcεRIβ E237G is not an influencing factor for asthma in Asian population. FcεRIβ -109C/T and IFN-γ 874T/A polymorphisms may be influencing factors for asthma in the Asian population.