Association of interleukin-18 polymorphisms and the susceptibility to diabetic nephropathy

We firstly investigated the association between IL-18 -137G/C and -607C/A genetic polymorphisms and the risk of developing diabetic nephropathy in a Chinese Han population. A total of 155 patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 320 healthy controls were recruited from the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University between January 2013 and March 2015. Genotyping of IL-18 -137G/C and -607C/A polymorphism was performed using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). As determined by multiple logistic regression analysis, individuals carrying GC genotype of IL-18 -137G/C were correlated with an elevated risk of diabetic nephropathy in comparison with the GG genotype, and the crude and adjusted ORs were 2.31 (1.49-3.56) and 2.54 (1.63-4.11), respectively. Moreover, the C allele of IL-18 -137G/C was associated with risk of developing diabetic nephropathy in comparison with G allele, and the crude and adjusted ORs were 1.81 (1.25-2.59) and 2.16 (1.36-2.85), respectively. In conclusion, our study suggests that IL-18 -137G/C is associated with development of diabetic nephropathy in the Chinese population.