Genetic polymorphisms were examined using direct sequencing of the hypervariable region II (HVRII) in the D-loop of mtDNA in the cord blood of 355 children living in two areas of the Czech Republic - the industrial district of Teplice and the agricultural district of Prachatice. The incidence of the most frequent nucleotide variants of HVRII, C150T (10.1%), T152C (19.7%), T195C (19.7%) and 309.nC (41.4% for 309.2C and 13.8% for 309.3C), and the respiratory morbidity at the ages of 0-2 years and 2-6 years were investigated, considering many other factors such as locality, gender, ethnicity, heating by coal in household, maternal age, asthma bronchiale, allergic rhinitis, pollinosis, conjunctivitis and maternal tobacco exposure during and after pregnancy. We found that the T195C transversion in HVRII is connected with an increased risk of early childhood (0-2 years) bronchitis (RR 1.38, p=0.034, 95% CI 1.04-1.85) and with increased risk of otitis media in children aged 2-6 years (RR 1.62, p=0.032, 95% CI 1.04-2.53). Another polymorphism, 309.nC, is associated with an increased risk of bronchitis in children aged 2-6 years (RR 1.46, p=0.030, 95% CI 1.04-2.06). The results indicate that genetic polymorphisms in mtDNA may be an important factor not only for various types of cancers and neurodegenerative diseases, but also for respiratory morbidity in children.

Institute of Experimental Medicine Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic v v i Videnska 1083 142 20 Prague 4 Czech Republic