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.

The optimal study design for identifying gene-environment interaction effects in large-scale studies F. Demenais (Paris, France)
Using omics data to detect gene-environment interactions - results from studies on air pollution and asthma E. Melén (Stockholm, Sweden)
Lessons in gene-environment interactions from the UK Biobank - clinical implications I. Hall (Nottingham (Nottinghamshire), United Kingdom)
Identifying individuals who are susceptible to the effects of environmental exposures - implications for public health actions I. Annesi Maesano (Paris, France)