Gene-environment interactions in the omics era
Symposium Chairs: H. Boezen (Groningen, Netherlands), K. Bonnelykke (Allerød, Denmark)
Aims: to review current knowledge about gene-environment (GxE) interactions in respiratory disease, which are believed to underlie the well-known fact that individuals respond differently to various environmental exposures such as tobacco smoke and air pollutants; to outline the clinical implications of what we know about GxE interactions and the future directions for studies and public health actions; to describe basic concepts about GxE interactions, provide examples of successful GxE studies in the literature, highlight methodological challenges and describe optimal study design. In particular, the GxE interactions in the omics era will be reviewed, namely, how these interactions are being evaluated at the DNA, epigenetic, transcriptomic and proteomic level.