GENETIC VARIANTS OF HUMAN INOSITOL POLYPHOSPHATE-4-PHOSPHATASE, TYPE I (INPP4A) USEFUL FOR PREDICTION AND THERAPY OF IMMUNOLOGICAL DISORDERS

摘要

Atopic asthma is a chronic, inflammatory lung disease characterized by recurrent breathing problems in response to an allergen. Platelets play an important role in this allergic inflammatory process, by releasing preformed mediators like platelet factor 4 (PF4) and regulated upon activation in normal T cells expressed and secreted (RANTES) upon activation causing eosinophil chemotaxis. The present invention relates to allelic variants of the human Inositol polyphosphate 4-phosphatase (INPP4A) gene and splice variants of the coding sequence, which encodes INPP4A enzyme known to be an important regulator of platelet activation; and provides primers and methods suitable for the detection of these allelic variants for applications such as molecular diagnosis, prediction and prevention of an individual's disease susceptibility, and /or the genetic analysis of the INPP4A gene in a population. The invention also provides an association with the expression profile of INPP4A protein in the mouse model of asthma. Specifically, the invention provides a method for detection of predisposition to atopic disorders /other immunological disorders such as, autoimmune disorders, inflammatory disorders, cancer, multiple sclerosis, fibrosis, tuberculosis, sarcoidosis, hypertension and disorders developing due to hypertension, diabetes and disorders developing due to diabetes, alcohol abuse, anxiety, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cholecystectomy, degenerative joint disease (DJD), seizure disorder, arthritis, etc. where human Inositol polyphosphate 4-phosphatase (INPP4A) might play an important role due to its involvement in platelet action.