The inside of the lungs are covered with a thin layer called “surfactant” that is vital for optimal breathing. An infant’s lungs continue to develop throughout childhood and are exposed to a range of allergens and infections. How they respond to these may have a vital role in the development of allergies and asthma, and may be driven by the genetic make-up of the child.

A number of studies already performed support this, but much of the work is on small or selected populations or only looking at one or two genes. Indeed, it may be that a combination of genes is more important, particularly when they influence similar functions. This work aims to identify likely candidate genes, which may impact on lung function and how the lung responds to inflammation and infections, and see how they interact in the population to provide increased risk of infection or allergies.

The main genes of interest in this work are the hydrophobic surfactant proteins B and C (SP-B and SP-C) and the innate immunity proteins surfactant protein D (SP-D) and mannose binding lectin (MBL).