Association between the CHI3L1 rs4950928 polymorphism and pulmonary function in patients with asthma

Le Thanh Hoang, Vo Pham Minh Thu

Main Article Content

Abstract

An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 95 patients with asthma treated at Dong Nai 2 General Hospital from June 2025 to January 2026. The results showed that the CC genotype of the CHI3L1 rs4950928 polymorphism accounted for 73.7%, the CG genotype for 26.3%, and no GG genotype was detected. The frequency of the C allele was 86.8%, whereas that of the G allele was 13.2%. The FEV1/FVC ratio tended to be lower in patients carrying the CC genotype than in those with the CG genotype, and in carriers of the C allele than in carriers of the G allele. The prevalence of airway obstruction defined as FEV1/FVC < 80% was higher in the CC group than in the CG group, at 24.3% versus 0.0%, and in C allele carriers than in G allele carriers, at 20.6% versus 0.0%, with p < 0.05. In the multivariable linear regression model, the G allele of the CHI3L1 rs4950928 polymorphism was associated with a higher FEV1/FVC ratio after adjustment for clinical factors (p = 0.008). These preliminary findings suggest that the CHI3L1 rs4950928 polymorphism may be associated with airway obstruction and reduced lung function in patients with asthma.

Article Details

References

1. Global Asthma Network. The The Global Asthma Report. Int J Tuberc Lung Dis. 2022;26(Supp 1):1-104. doi:10.5588/ijtld.22.1010
2. Lam HT, Rönmark E, Tuong NV, et al. Increase in asthma and a high prevalence of bronchitis: results from a population study among adults in urban and rural Vietnam. Respir Med. 2011;105(2):177-85. doi:10.1016/j.rmed.2010.10.001
3. Zhu Y, Yan X, Zhai C, et al. Association between risk of asthma and gene polymorphisms in CHI3L1 and CHIA: a systematic meta-analysis. BMC Pulm Med. 2017;17(1):193. doi:10.1186/s12890-017-0515-2
4. Ober C, Tan Z, Sun Y, et al. Effect of variation in CHI3L1 on serum YKL-40 level, risk of asthma, and lung function. The New England journal of medicine. 2008;358(16):1682-91. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa0708801
5. Specjalski K, Romantowski J, Niedoszytko M. YKL-40 as a possible marker of neutrophilic asthma. Front Med. 2023;10:1115938. doi:10.3389/fmed.2023.1115938
6. Huang QP, Xie ZF, Huang J. Assessment of the Association between Genetic Polymorphisms in the CHI3L1 Gene and Asthma Risk. International archives of allergy and immunology. 2022;183(8):907-918. doi:10.1159/000522393
7. Jin Y, Song J, Xu F, et al. Association between YKL-40 and asthma: a systematic meta-analysis. Sleep Breath. 2022;26(3):1011-1022. doi:10.1007/s11325-021-02495-w
8. Liu L, Zhang X, Liu Y, et al. Chitinase-like protein YKL-40 correlates with inflammatory phenotypes, anti-asthma responsiveness and future exacerbations. Respir Res. 2019;20(1):95. doi:10.1186/s12931-019-1051-9
9. Cunningham J, Basu K, Tavendale R, et al. The CHI3L1 rs4950928 polymorphism is associated with asthma-related hospital admissions in children and young adults. Annals of allergy, asthma & immunology : official publication of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology. 2011;106(5):381-6. doi:10.1016/j.anai.2011.01.030
10. Chen F, An Y, Wang J. CHI3L1 is correlated with childhood asthma. Int J Clin Exp Pathol. 2017;10(10):10559-10564.
11. Global Initiative for A. Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention. 2024. 2024/05/22. Accessed 2026/04/07. https://ginasthma.org/2024-report/
12. Chen G, Zhang MM, Wang Y, et al. Functional study of the association of CHI3L1 polymorphisms with asthma susceptibility in the Southwest Chinese Han population. Bioscience reports. 2019;39(5)doi:10.1042/bsr20182008
13. Demenais F, Margaritte-Jeannin P, Barnes KC, et al. Multiancestry association study identifies new asthma risk loci that colocalize with immune-cell enhancer marks. Nature genetics. 2018;50(1):42-53. doi:10.1038/s41588-017-0014-7
14. Tang H, Sun Y, Shi Z, et al. YKL-40 induces IL-8 expression from bronchial epithelium via MAPK (JNK and ERK) and NF-κB pathways, causing bronchial smooth muscle proliferation and migration. Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md : 1950). 2013;190(1):438-46. doi:10.4049/jim munol.1201827