Transmission of surfactant protein variants and haplotypes in children hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus.

Severity of lung injury with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is variable and may be related to genetic variations. This preliminary report describes a prospective, family-based association study of children hospitalized secondary to RSV, aimed to determine whether intragenic and other haplotypes of surfactant proteins (SP)-A and SP-D are transmitted disproportionately from parents to offspring with RSV disease. Genomic DNA was genotyped for several SP-A and SP-D single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).