Cytokine (IL-6) and chemokine (IL-8) gene polymorphisms among rheumatoid arthritis patients in Taiwan

Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology

F.-J. Tsai¹  S.-F. Lo¹  W.-C. Chen¹  C.-M. Huang¹  H.-C. Lin¹  C.-H. Tsai¹ 

关键词: Interleukin-6;    interleukin-8;    gene polymorphism;    rheumatoid arthritis.;   

DOI  :  

学科分类：医学（综合）

来源: Pacini Editore SpA

【 摘 要 】

OBJECTIVES:The involvement of cytokines and chemokines in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is well studied; however, the genetic bases behind this is not well understood. The aim of this study was to examine whether -572 G/C polymorphism in the IL-6 gene and 2767 A/G polymorphism in the 3`-untranslated region (UTR) of the IL-8 gene are associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).METHODS:We enrolled 199 RA patients and 130 normal controls. Polymerase chain reaction was used to identify the IL-6 -572G/C and IL-8 3`-UTR 2767A/G polymorphisms. The relationships between clinical manifestations of RA and the polymorphisms of each gene were investigated by comparing the genotypes among RA patients with different clinical variables. RESULTS:We found no significant difference in the genotypic and allelic frequencies of the single nucleotide polymorphisms of IL-6 and IL-8 genes between RA patients and controls. Clinical characteristics such as age at onset, rheumatoid factor positivity, joint erosion and extra-articular manifestations were compared among patients with different genotypes of the IL-6 and IL-8 genes. We found that patients with IL-8 3`-UTR 2767AA genotype had a significantly younger age of onset of RA than patients without that genotype.CONCLUSIONS:The IL-6 -572 G/C and IL-8 3`-UTR 2767A/G polymorphisms are not associated with the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. However, the finding that patients with IL-8 3`-UTR 2767AA developed RA at a younger age suggests that this genotype may influence the etiopathology of RA in patients in Taiwan. Therefore, further single nucleotide polymorphism studies of this 3`UTR region may give more novel findings and understanding of the genetic basis of rheumatoid arthritis.

【 授权许可】

Unknown