title: Association of interleukin-1beta and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist polymorphisms with bacterial vaginosis in non-pregnant Italian women.
abstract: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most prevalent alteration of vaginal microflora worldwide. BV is a polymicrobial disorder, and its etiology is elusive. Factors predisposing to this recurrent condition are not fully characterized. We aimed to investigate whether interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) polymorphisms are associated with BV in non-pregnant white Italian women. Genomic DNA was obtained from 164 BV positive, and 406 control women. Two diallelic polymorphisms in the IL-1beta gene (IL-1B) representing C/T base transitions at - 511 and + 3954 positions and a variable number tandem repeats (VNTR) in intron 2 of the IL-1ra gene (IL-1RN) were assessed. We demonstrated that women who were homozygous for - 511 CC or + 3954 TT of the IL-1B gene were at increased risk for BV with an odds ratio (OR) = 1.5 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.03-2.14, P = 0.032], and OR = 2.8 (95% CI = 1.37-5.88, P = 0.004), respectively. The haplotype - 511/ + 3954 T-C was protective for BV, with an OR = 0.7 (95% CI = 0.49-0.90, P = 0.009). The IL-1RN VNTR genotype was not associated with BV, although the rare allele 3 showed a trend towards protection (P = 0.049). These data show that host genetic variants at the IL-1beta locus predispose to BV among Caucasian non-pregnant women. Further studies will determine whether these genetic polymorphisms modulate the risk for BV recurrence, and/or BV associated severe adverse outcomes as preterm birth and human immunodeficiency virus transmission.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies, School of Medicine, University of Udine, Udine, Italy. scauci@mail.dstb.uniud.it
authors.forename: Sabina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cauci
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Santolo
authors.forename: Giorgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Casabellata
authors.forename: Kelli
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ryckman
authors.forename: Scott M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Secondo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guaschino
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006239:Haplotypes; D006720:Homozygote; D006801:Humans; D053590:Interleukin 1 Receptor Antagonist Protein / Q000235:genetics*; D053583:Interleukin-1beta / Q000235:genetics*; D007438:Introns; D007558:Italy; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000235:genetics*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D016585:Vaginosis, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology; D044465:White People / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: C507763:IL1RN protein, human; D053590:Interleukin 1 Receptor Antagonist Protein; D053583:Interleukin-1beta; D010446:Peptide Fragments; C073692:interleukin-1beta (204-215)