Association between a C+33T polymorphism in the IL-4 promoter region and total serum IgE levels.
Susceptibility to asthma and other atopic diseases is known to be associated with elevated total IgE levels. Several investigators have linked the interleukin-4 (IL-4) gene and nearby markers located on chromosome 5q to elevated total IgE levels. A single nucleotide polymorphism in the IL-4 gene promoter region (C+33T) has recently been identified. As part of an effort to identify genetic variants contributing to the susceptibility to elevated total serum IgE levels, an association analysis of a newly identified promoter polymorphism (C+33T) with total serum IgE levels was conducted. The study was conducted using 240 Japanese subjects (120 asthmatics and 120 healthy controls). The IL-4 C+33T polymorphism was genotyped by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. The frequency of the T allele was 0.675 in asthmatic subjects and 0.671 in healthy controls. An ANOVA model adjusted for age, sex and disease status suggested a genetic association of C+33T polymorphism with elevated total serum IgE levels (P < 0.05). The data suggest that IL-4 promoter C+33T polymorphism may be one of the genetic polymorphisms that explain genetic linkage or association between elevated total serum IgE levels and markers on chromosome 5q.
Suzuki
I
I
First Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Kita-Ku, Sapporo, Japan.
Hizawa
N
N
Yamaguchi
E
E
Kawakami
Y
Y
D000368:Aged; D000483:Alleles; D044466:Asian People; D001249:Asthma / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood*; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic
D015847:Interleukin-4; D007073:Immunoglobulin E