What happened to the genetics of asthma: Is there any future?

Identifying the genetic factors that contribute to the development and progression of asthma is a significant area of research. Studies that leverage technologies such as genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and next-generation sequencing have identified loci and genes and pathways associated with asthma risk and pathogenesis. The interplay of the genes and environmental factors that influence the diverse range of asthma phenotypes complicates this research. As such, the replication of genetic findings and the functional characterization of associated variants is challenging.

This Research Topic addresses ongoing challenges in translating our understanding of the genetic contributions to asthma into clinical practice. Significant gaps remain in our understanding of the genetic architecture of asthma. The integration of multi-omic data using new computational biology approaches may reveal novel molecular insights that help translate findings into clinical practice.

We welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
- Advances in genetic loci identification for asthma with an emphasis on NGS with large population style studies (UK Biobank, etc.) vs. smaller studies with deeply defined phenotypes, etc.
- The impact of gene-environment interactions on asthma severity
- The role of epigenetics in asthma susceptibility, in particular a focus on:
• Chromatin modifications
• Emerging techniques i.e. nanopore
- Applications of polygenic risk scores in asthma prediction
- Integration of multi-omics data to unravel asthma pathways:
• Interdisciplinary research
• Need for harmonisation of summary to facilitate collaboration
- Single-cell genomics/transcriptomics linking asthma genetics and phenotypes
- Application of artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify complex patterns that describe the gene x environment interaction in asthma
- The role of the microbiome-genome interaction in asthma development
- The integration of spatial transcriptomics (genetic expression patterns within lung tissue architecture i.e. expansion of DICE eQTLs).
- CRISPR-based functional genomics to validate and therapeutically target asthma-associated genetic variants.

We invite submissions that are original research, reviews, and perspectives.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Asthma genetics, Genome-wide association studies (GWAS), Genetic loci, Gene-environment interactions, Epigenetics, Polygenic risk scores, Multi-omics, Asthma phenotypes, Genetic biomarkers, Personalized medicine

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.