Zhang Y, Hua L, Liu QH, et al. - This case-control study was undertaken to determine if there is any gene-environment interaction between the inflammation-related gene polymorphisms and visible mold exposure in childhood asthma in Shanghai. Six hundred forty-five asthmatic and 910 non-asthmatic children aged 3–12 years old were recruited in the study. Using MassARRAY assay, eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in inflammation-related genes were genotyped. Six hundred eight asthmatic and 839 non-asthmatic children were included in the analyses after excluding children without information on visible mold exposure or SNPs. The authors discovered that visible mold exposure increased the risk of childhood asthma and that rs7216389 T allele variants had a dose-dependent effect on childhood asthma. Furthermore, they observed that the impact of visible mold exposure on childhood asthma became stronger in children who carried the rs7216389 T allele, indicating a gene-environment interaction. The discovery suggests that genetic susceptibility plays an important role in the links between environmental factors and childhood asthma.