Delta 32 deletion of CCR5 gene and association with asthma or atopy

The CCR5 Delta 32 deletion polymorphism (CCR5-Delta 32) was investigated fo r linkage and association to asthma and atopy using two panels of nuclear f amilies containing 1284 individuals. No statistically significant linkage t o asthma/wheeze or atopy was observed in either of the two panels of famili es. Multiallelic transmission disequilibrium tests (TDT) of the combined da ta found no significant association for atopy (52 independent alleles trans mitted, 51 non-transmitted) or asthma/wheeze (39 transmitted, 44 non-transm itted). Although functional evidence might suggest that CCR5 is a good cand idate gene for atopic asthma, this study provides no genetic evidence from CCR5-Delta 32 polymorphism to support this hypothesis.