title: Differential distribution of allelic variants in cytokine genes among African Americans and White Americans.
abstract: Racial disparities in health are largely unexplained. Because many diseases causing premature mortality among African Americans are mediated by the immune system, the authors explored the race-specific distribution of allelic variants in cytokine genes known to stimulate inflammation. The authors studied women seeking prenatal care and delivering singletons in uncomplicated first births at a US hospital in 1997-2001. A total of 179 African-American women and 396 White women were evaluated for functionally relevant allelic variants in cytokine genes. African-American women were significantly more likely to carry allelic variants known to up-regulate proinflammatory cytokines; odds ratios increased with allele dose. Odds ratios for African Americans versus Whites in genotypes up-regulating proinflammatory interleukin (IL) 1 (IL1A-4845G/G, IL1A-889T/T, IL1B-3957C/C, and IL1B-511A/A) ranged from 2.1 to 4.9. The proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 IL6-174 G/G genotype was 36.5 times (95% confidence interval (CI): 8.8, 151.9) more common among African Americans. Genotypes known to down-regulate the antiinflammatory interleukin-10 (IL10-819 T/T and IL10-1082 A/A) were elevated 3.5-fold (95% CI: 1.8, 6.6) and 2.8-fold (95% CI: 1.6, 4.9) in African Americans. Cytokine genotypes found to be more common in African-American women were consistently those that up-regulate inflammation.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA. repro@edc.pitt.edu
authors.forename: Roberta B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Ness
authors.forename: Catherine L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Haggerty
authors.forename: Gail
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Harger
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ferrell
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000483:Alleles; D044383:Black People / Q000235:genetics*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D016207:Cytokines / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010414:Pennsylvania; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D044465:White People / Q000235:genetics*; D001741:Black or African American
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines