Beschreibung:
<jats:p>Histamine plays an important role in the allergic inflammation. Histamin N‐Methyltransferase (HNMT) catalyses the major pathway of histamine metabolism in the human lung. A common functional single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) within the <jats:italic>HNMT</jats:italic> gene (C314T) was recently related to asthma. We tested this SNP for associations with asthma and asthma associated traits in two German pediatric populations (1. MAS‐cohort, n = 888, 85 children with asthma; 2. asthmatic children from Freiburg, n = 176). Non‐asthmatic (n = 515) and non‐atopic (n = 211) children from the MAS‐cohort were used as controls. For genotyping melting curve analyses (Light Cycler System) were applied. In contrast to a previous study, no association of the <jats:italic>HNMT</jats:italic> 314T allele with asthma, bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) or other asthma related phenotypes could be observed in either study population. We conclude that this SNP might not play a major role in the pathogenesis of asthma or BHR in German children.</jats:p>