Delta 32 deletion of CCR5 gene and association with asthma or atopy

The CCR5-Δ32 deletion polymorphism (CCR5-Δ32) was investigated for linkage and association to asthma and atopy using two panels of nuclear families containing 1284 individuals. No statistically significant linkage to asthma/ wheeze or atopy was observed in either of the two panels of families. Multiallelic transmission disequilibrium tests (TDT) of the combined data found no significant association for atopy (52 independent alleles transmitted, 51 non-transmitted) or asthma/wheeze (39 transmitted, 44 non-transmitted). Although functional evidence might suggest that CCR5 is a good candidate gene for atopic asthma, this study provides no genetic evidence from CCR5-Δ32 polymorphism to support this hypothesis.