The -590C/T and -34C/T interleukin-4 promoter polymorphisms are not associated with atopic eczema in childhood.
Susceptibility to the development of asthma and other atopic diseases is known to have a genetic component. To date, several studies have linked chromosome 5q31 to asthma and atopy in human beings. This region harbors a cluster of cytokine and growth factor genes, IL-4 presenting as a prime atopy candidate gene, inasmuch as it plays a pivotal role in the atopy pathway. Our approach was to identify polymorphisms within the promoter regions of IL-4 and test their association with atopic eczema. Polymorphisms were typed in a cohort of 76 small nuclear families and 25 triads with childhood atopic eczema. The genotypes were used to test for linkage in the presence of association with atopic eczema. A new polymorphism, -34C/T, was identified and studied with a known polymorphism, -590C/T. On its own, each polymorphism showed no association with atopic eczema. The 2 polymorphisms were used to generate haplotypes, and a significant result was found for the -590C/-34C haplotype. However, after Bonferroni correction for multiple testing, the association became nonsignificant. Neither polymorphism predisposes to early-onset atopic eczema by itself, but suggestive linkage was found for the -590C/-34C haplotype in this study.
Elliott
K
K
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
Fitzpatrick
E
E
Hill
D
D
Brown
J
J
Adams
S
S
Chee
P
P
Stewart
G
G
Fulcher
D
D
Tang
M
M
Kemp
A
A
King
E
E
Varigos
G
G
Bahlo
M
M
Forrest
S
S
D002648:Child; D002895:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 5 / Q000235:genetics; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000235:genetics*; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D006239:Haplotypes; D006801:Humans; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000235:genetics*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*
D015847:Interleukin-4