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Scientists have uncovered which genes predispose people to asthma, hayfever and eczema,聽in a major international study pinpointing聽more than 100 genetic risk factors.

Led by聽Dr Manuel Ferreira from the聽聽in Queensland, the study has been published in the prestigious journal聽.

Dr Ferreira said this was the first study designed to find genetic risk factors shared among the three most common allergic conditions.

鈥淎sthma, hayfever and eczema are allergic diseases that affect different parts of the body: the lungs, the nose and the skin,鈥� Dr Ferreira said.

鈥淲e already knew that they were similar at many levels. For example, we knew that the three diseases shared many genetic risk factors. What we didn鈥檛 know was exactly where in the genome those shared genetic risk factors were located.

鈥淭his is important to know because it tells us which specific genes, when not working properly, cause allergic conditions. This knowledge helps us understand why allergies develop in the first place and, potentially, gives us new clues on how they could be prevented or treated.

鈥淲e analysed the genomes of 360,838 people and pinpointed 136 separate positions in the genome that are risk factors for developing these conditions.

鈥淚f you are unlucky and inherit these genetic risk factors from your parents, it will predispose you to all three allergic conditions.

Dr Ferreira said those 136 genetic risk factors influenced whether 132 nearby genes were switched on or off.

鈥淲e think that these genes influence the risk of asthma, hayfever and eczema by affecting how the cells of the immune system work,鈥� he said.

鈥淚mportantly, we have identified several drugs that we believe could be targeted at some of these genes to treat allergies. The first step would be to test those drugs in the laboratory.鈥�

The study also examined if environmental factors might affect whether these genes are switched on or off.

鈥淲e found that this could be happening for many of the genes we identified,鈥� Dr Ferreira said.

鈥淔or example, we found one gene 鈥� called PITPNM2 鈥� that is more likely to be switched off in people who smoke. If this gene is switched off, then the risk of developing allergies increases.鈥�

According to the , about 11% of Australians, or 2.5 million people, reported having asthma in 2014鈥�15. According to the , nearly one in five Australians, or almost 4.5 million people, suffered from hayfever in 2014鈥�15.

Top image: Dr Manuel Ferreira. Credit: 漏