Background Cigarette-smoke induced DNA damage can cause airway cell apoptosis and death, which may be associated with the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （COPD）. However, only 20%-30% of smokers develop COPD, suggesting that different degrees of DNA repair produce different outcomes in smokers, i.e., part of them develop COPD. We investigated the association between polymorphisms in DNA repair genes hOGG1 （Ser326Cys） and XRCC1 （Arg399GIn）, alone or in combination, and susceptibility of COPD. Methods Altogether 201 COPD patients and 309 controls were recruited and frequency-matched on age and sex. hOGG1 and XRCC1 genotypes were determined by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Results The risk of COPD was not significantly different among individuals with Ser/Cys and Cys/Cys genotypes compared with those with hOGG1 Ser/Ser genotype. The risk of COPD was not significantly different among individuals with Gin/Gin genotype compared with those with XRCC1 Arg/Arg genotype, but it was significantly elevated among individuals with Arg/GIn genotype （adjusted odds ratios （OR）=1.55, 95% confidence intervals （CI） 1.05-2.29, P=0.029）. Assessment of smoking status in current smokers compared with those with hOGG1 Ser/Ser genotype revealed that the risk of COPD was significantly elevated among individuals with Cys/Cys genotype （adjusted OR=5.07, 95% CI 1.84-13.95, P=0.002）. Compared with those with XRCC1 Arg/Arg genotype, the risk of COPD was significantly elevated among individuals with Arg/GIn genotype （adjusted OR=2.77, 95% CI 1.52-5.07, P=-0.001）. Assessment of smoking exposure in light smokers compared with those with hOGG1 Ser/Ser genotype showed that the risk of COPD was significantly elevated among individuals with Cys/Cys genotype （adjusted OR=4.02, 95% CI 1.05-16.80, P=0.042）. Compared with those with XRCC1 Arg/Arg genotype, the risk of COPD was significantly elevated among individuals with Gin/Gin genotype （adjusted OR=4.48, 95% CI 1.35-14.
YANG Shi-fang XU Yong-jian XIE Jun-gang ZHANG Zhen-xiang
The DNA damage, caused by cigarette smoking, can cause airway cell apoptosis and death, which may be associated with the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （COPD）. However, just 20%-30% smokers develop COPD, which suggests that different degrees of DNA repair cause different outcomes in smokers. X-ray repair cross-complementing group 1 （XRCC 1）, a base excision repair protein, has multiple roles in repairing ROS-mediated, basal DNA damage and single-strand DNA breaks. The present study investigated the association between polymorphism in XRCC1 （Arg399Gln） and susceptibility of COPD. A total of 201 COPD cases and 309 controls were recruited and frequency-matched on age and sex. XRCC1 genotype was determined by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Overall, compared with those with the XRCC1 Arg/Arg genotype, the risk for COPD had no significant difference among individuals with Trp/Trp genotype. However, after stratifying by smoking status, in former smokers, compared with those with the XRCC1 Arg/Arg genotype, the risk for COPD was significantly reduced among individuals with Trp/Trp genotype （adjusted OR=0.22, 95% CI 0.06-0.85, P=0.028）; after stratifying by smoking exposure, in light smokers, compared with those with the XRCC1 Arg/Arg genotype, the risk for COPD was significantly reduced among individuals with Arg/Trp genotype and Trp/Trp genotype （adjusted OR=0.39, 95% CI 0.16=0.94, P=0.036; 0.24, 95% CI 0.07-0.79, P=0.019, respectively）. In conclusion, XRCC1 Arg194Trp genotype is associated with a reduced risk of developing COPD among former and light smokers.
