Association between Respiratory Disorders and Candidate Genes in Korean Newborn Infants

ABSTRACT

Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) remain major acute and chronic postnatal lung diseases in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. RDS and BPD are multifactorial diseases influenced by genetic factors. Specific genetic variants contributing to the regulation of pulmonary development, structure and function or inflammatory response, and host defense mechanism can be risk factors for the development of RDS and/or BPD. This review summarizes recent association studies of genetic polymorphisms with RDS and BPD. In addition, we analyze the genetic differences among various study populations to identify potential candidate genes for susceptibility to RDS and BPD in Korean preterm infants.