Functional classes of bronchial mucosa genes that are differentially expressed in asthma

Asthma pathogenesis and susceptibility involves a complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors. We report the results of expression microarray studies using tissue obtained from bronchial biopsies of healthy controls and of subjects with allergic asthma, both before and following inhaled corticotherapy. Four healthy subjects (2 men and 2 women) without a history of allergy or asthma and four asthmatics (all women) meeting the criteria of the American Thoracic Society for the diagnosis of asthma were recruited to the study. Microarray expression studies were performed using Affymetrix HG-U95Av2 GeneChips.