Wheezy and Cough Asthma Phenotypes in a cohort of Egyptian Children: Clinical features and CCR3 T51C Gene Polymorphism

Background: Asthma is a heterogenous disease with variable characteristic phenotypes. Correlating clinical asthma phenotypes with the underlying genotypes could pave the way for the development of tailored asthma medications. Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical features of wheezy and cough asthma phenotypes and to assess the frequency of CCR3 T51C gene polymorphism among Egyptian asthmatic children. Methods: A group of 60 Egyptian asthmatic children (40 wheezy phenotypes and 20 cough phenotypes) together with 100 controls were enrolled and analyzed for the genotypes of CCR3 T51C polymorphisms using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Serum IgE levels were determined by the ELISA technique. Results: Regarding clinical characteristics, associated allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis were found to be significantly higher among the wheezy phenotype compared with the cough phenotype. Also, most of the patients with the wheezy phenotype had moderate to severe asthma, while most of the patients with the cough phenotype had mild asthma. Regarding the frequency of CCR3 T51C genotypes, the TT homozygote genotype was the most frequent genotype among cases and controls. However, no statistically significant differences were found between the two clinical phenotypes. Conclusion: In our studied population, the wheezy asthma phenotype was characterized by a higher frequency of associated allergic march and increased asthma severity. Yet, our results deny the value of CCR3 T51C genetic polymorphism as a genetic marker for differentiating between wheezy and cough asthma phenotypes.