Qi Hui, Sun Lin, Jin Ya-Qiong, Shen Chen, Chu Ping, Wang Sheng-Feng, Yin Qing-Qin, Qi Zhan, Xu Fang, Jiao Wei-Wei, Wu Xi-Rong, Tian Jian-Ling, Xiao Jing, Shen A-Dong
Key Laboratory of Major Diseases in Children and National Key Discipline of Pediatrics (Capital Medical University), Ministry of Education, Beijing Pediatric Research Institute, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 56, Nan-li-shi Road, Beijing 100045, China.
Department of Epidemiology and Bio-statistics, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China.
Infect Genet Evol. 2014 Apr;23:121-8. doi: 10.1016/j.meegid.2014.01.031. Epub 2014 Feb 8.
Interleukin-4 (IL-4) and IL-10, which are produced by Th2 cells, serve as anti-inflammatory cytokines in the immune responses to tuberculosis (TB). In order to investigate the association between susceptibility to TB and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the IL-4 and IL-10 genes, a case-control study including 346 TB patients and 374 healthy controls was performed in Chinese Han children in North China. Though no significant differences in the allelic and genotypic distributions of SNPs of these two genes were observed between control group and TB group, rs2243268-A and rs2243274-G of the IL-4 gene were associated with reduced risk of developing extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) (Prs2243268=0.005 and Prs2243274=0.004) and severe TB (Prs2243268=0.003 and Prs2243274=0.003). The haplotype comprising rs2243268-A and rs2243274-G was found to be a resistance factor against EPTB and severe TB. In addition, after stimulation with inactivated H37Rv, blood samples of the rs2243268 AA+AC carriers showed significantly reduced IL-10 production (P=0.045) compared to the CC carriers. In conclusion, rs2243268-A and rs2243274-G of the IL-4 gene were found to confer resistance to EPTB and severe TB in Chinese Han children.
