Association of cytokine gene polymorphisms with susceptibility to cutaneous leishmaniasis in a Turkish population

Aims The objective of this study was to determine the association of TNF-alpha -308 G/A, IFN-gamma +874 T/A, IL-12B + 1188 A/C, IL-10 -1082 G/A and IL-4 -590 C/T polymorphisms with susceptibility to CL. Methods and Results A total of 55 CL patients and 110 controls from Sanliurfa province of Turkey were included to this study. Polymorphisms were genotyped by 'polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP)' and 'amplification refractory mutation system-PCR (ARMS-PCR)' methods. A statistically significant difference was noted in the allele (P < .001,P = .002) and genotype (P < .001,P = .001,) frequencies of TNF-alpha -308 G/A and IL-4 -590 C/T, respectively. TNF-alpha 308 GG versus GA genotype (OR = 19.556 [95% CI 8.310-46.019]P < .001), GG versus GA + AA genotype (OR = 20.444 [95% CI 8.707-48.004]P < .001) and G versus A allele (OR = 6.968 [95% CI 3.903-12.440]P < .001) revealed significant association with CL. IL-4 -590 CC versus TT + CT genotype (OR = 2.049 [95% CI 1.025-4.096],P = .041) and C versus T allele (OR = 2.441 [95% CI 1.355-4.396],P = .002) revealed significant association with CL. Conclusion Our study indicates that TNF-alpha 308 G/A and IL-4-590 C/T polymorphisms are significantly associated with susceptibility to CL. Individuals carrying A allele at TNF-alpha promoter -308 position and T allele at IL-4 promoter -590 position are at a higher risk for CL.