Lungs of children with asthma and adults who smoke can be protected by a gene variant that plays a role in inflammation, researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) identified.

Risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a progressive condition often brought on by smoking was lower in adult smokers with this variant of the MMP12 gene, Researchers found.

"The gene seems to be protective of the lungs in both asthma and COPD," said Dr Norman Edelman, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association.

Jeffrey Cirillo, professor of microbial and molecular pathogenesis at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine in College Station, said, "Levels of the MMP12 gene may have an impact on the quality of life for individuals with asthma and COPD, and may help us to come up with potential therapeutic approaches."

“The question is why people who don't smoke get COPD. If we understood that, we could find ways to protect people." added researchers.

Dr Juan C. Celedon, an associate professor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston and his colleagues tested seven different groups of people comprising 8,300 adults and children and concluded the above facts.

Further research was needed to fully set apart related genetic variants in MMP12, to recognize added genetic variants common to both COPD and asthma and to assess whether decrease in MMP12 levels is beneficial.

A variant of MMP12 was believed to improve lung function in children who had asthma. In adults, the variant helped in better lung function in smokers and also reduced the risk of COPD.