Background

Kawasaki disease (KD) is a childhood disease prevalent in Asian populations, especially Japan. Disease incidence is approximately 1/1000 for Asians, and 2/10,000 in Caucasian populations. One quarter of disease patients are susceptible to life-threatening coronary artery aneurysms.

Technology Description

UC San Diego investigators have found several genetic markers that are risk factors for Kawasaki disease (KD) susceptibility and that are prognostic markers for adverse outcomes from the disease. The etiology of KD is poorly understood, but there is an undeniable genetic component. Identifying children at risk for coronary artery complications of KD could lead to more specific, aggressive therapies for this population of children. Finding alleles that predispose individuals to KD might also suggest clues about the causative agent(s) of KD.

Applications

Diagnostic kits identifying patients at risk could be developed, leading to targeted vaccine strategies. Genotyping may also identify patients at risk for complications of KD, such as coronary artery aneurysms, who need more specific or more aggressive therapy. It can also lead to better genetic counseling for expecting parents. Asian countries, especially Japan where KD is commonly diagnosed, could be a prime market.

A diagnostic test for KD could be used widely in pediatric offices and emergency rooms to rule out KD in children with fever and rash. Thus, the universe of children who would be tested is much larger than the universe of children with KD. It is possible that 100 tests would be performed to find one KD patient.

Related Materials

• A genome-wide association study identifies three new risk loci for Kawasaki disease. Onouchi Y, Ozaki K, Burns JC, Shimizu C, Terai M, Hamada H, Honda T, Suzuki H, Suenaga T, Takeuchi T, Yoshikawa N, Suzuki Y, Yasukawa K, Ebata R, Higashi K, Saji T, Kemmotsu Y, Takatsuki S, Ouchi K, Kishi F, Yoshikawa T, Nagai T, Hamamoto K, Sato Y, Honda A, Kobayashi H, Sato J, Shibuta S, Miyawaki M, Oishi K, Yamaga H, Aoyagi N, Iwahashi S, Miyashita R, Murata Y, Sasago K, Takahashi A, Kamatani N, Kubo M, Tsunoda T, Hata A, Nakamura Y, Tanaka T; Japan Kawasaki Disease Genome Consortium; US Kawasaki Disease Genetics Consortium. Nat Genet. 2012 Mar 25;44(5):517-21. doi: 10.1038/ng.2220 - 03/25/2012
• Genome-wide association study identifies FCGR2A as a susceptibility locus for Kawasaki disease. Khor CC, Davila S, Breunis WB, Lee YC, Shimizu C, Wright VJ, Yeung RS, Tan DE, Sim KS, Wang JJ, Wong TY, Pang J, Mitchell P, Cimaz R, Dahdah N, Cheung YF, Huang GY, Yang W, Park IS, Lee JK, Wu JY, Levin M, Burns JC, Burgner D, Kuijpers TW, Hibberd ML; Hong Kong–Shanghai Kawasaki Disease Genetics Consortium; Korean Kawasaki Disease Genetics Consortium; Taiwan Kawasaki Disease Genetics Consortium; International Kawasaki Disease Genetics Consortium; US Kawasaki Disease Genetics Consortium; Blue Mountains Eye Study. Nat Genet. 2011 Nov 13;43(12):1241-6. doi: 10.1038/ng.981. - 11/13/2011
• Burgner D, Davila S, Breunis WB, Ng SB, Li Y, Bonnard C, Ling L, Wright VJ, Thalamuthu A, Odam M, Shimizu C, Burns JC, Levin M, Kuijpers TW, Hibberd ML; International Kawasaki Disease Genetics Consortium. A genome-wide association study identifies novel and functionally related susceptibility loci for Kawasaki disease. PLoS Genet. 2009 Jan;5(1):e1000319. Epub 2009 Jan 9 - 01/09/2009

Patent Status

Patent Pending

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Contact

University of California, San Diego Technology Transfer Office / invent@ucsd.edu / tel: View Phone Number. Please reference Tech ID #22681.

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