The SERPINE2 Gene and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

SERPINE 2 has been recently identified as a positional candidate gene for susceptibility to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Polymorphic variants of this gene have been associated with early onset COPD and with severe COPD. We independently tested for an association of SERPINE 2 gene with COPD in 1018 COPD cases and in 911 controls prospectively recruited from six European centers. No association was found between any of the five SERPINE2 SNPs considered and COPD, in examining both the allelic and genotype distributions. To determine whether the reported association with SERPINE 2 was related to disease severity, we also analyzed SNP allele and genotype frequency in a subgroup of 388 patients with severe COPD (Forced Expiratory Volume at 1 second ? 45% of the predicted value) but we failed to observe any association.