Interleukin-18 gene 105A/C genetic polymorphism is associated with the susceptibility of Kawasaki disease

✍ Scribed by Shih-Yin Chen; Lei Wan; Yu-Chuen Huang; Jim Jinn-Chyuan Sheu; Yu-Ching Lan; Chih-Ho Lai; Cheng-Wen Lin; Jeng Sheng Chang; Yuhsin Tsai; Shih-Ping Liu; Ying-Ju Lin; Fuu-Jen Tsai

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 100 KB
• Volume: 23
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0887-8013
• DOI: 10.1002/jcla.20292

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Interleukin‐18 (IL‐18)‐656T/G, ‐607A/C, and ‐137C/G promoter polymorphisms had been reported associated with Kawasaki disease (KD). An IL‐18 genetic A/C polymorphism at coding position 105 (rs549908) has been linked with asthma, rheumatoid, and systemic lupus erythematosus. We tested a hypothesis that the IL‐18 105A/C genetic polymorphism confers KD susceptibility. Study participants were Taiwanese KD patients and a healthy control group. Our data indicated that the frequency of C allele was significantly higher in the patient group (13.9%) than in the control group (2.7%; P<0.0001, odds ratio [OR]=5.93; 95% confidence interval [CI]=2.57–13.73). Therefore, persons with the C allele may have higher risk of deve loping KD. In addition, compared with the haplotype frequencies between case and control groups, the KD patients with TACC haplotype appeared to be a significant “at‐risk” haplotype compared with other haplotypes (OR: 4.62, 95% CI: 1.71–12.43; P=0.001). KD patient with the TAGA haplotype appeared to be a significant “protective” haplotype compared with other haplotypes (OR: 0.51, 95% CI:0.29–0.89; P=0.017). Our results suggest that 105A/C polymorphism and the haplotypes in IL‐18 gene are associated with the risk of KD in Taiwanese population. Clin. Lab. Anal. 23:71–76, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.