MUC5B Promoter Polymorphism and Survival in Indian Patients With Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Abstract

A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs35705950 in the promoter region of an airway mucin gene, mucin 5B gene (MUC5B) results in a more than a fourfold increased risk of sporadic idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in both Caucasian and Asian subjects.1,2 The frequency of the variant T allele of this SNP is remarkably higher among Caucasian patients with IPF and healthy control subjects than in Asian patients.2 Although the variant predicted improved survival in patients with IPF in two studies, other studies have failed to confirm these findings.