title: Human leucocyte antigens and cytokine gene polymorphisms and tuberculosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Several genes encoding different cytokines and human leucocyte antigens (HLA) may play crucial roles in host susceptibility to tuberculosis (TB). Our objective was to investigate whether these genes might be associated with protection from or susceptibility to TB.
  
  
  METHODS
  Genomic DNA from patients with TB (n = 30) and ethnically matched controls (n = 30) was genotyped by using sequence-specific primers-polymerase chain reaction and sequence-specific oligonucletid methods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our results demonstrated that HLA-CwFNx0101 [P = 0.05, odds ration (OR) (95% confidence interval) = 2.269 (1.702-3.027)] allele frequency was significantly more common in TB patients than in healthy controls, and HLA-CwFNx0101 may be associated with susceptibility to TB. Analysis of cytokine allele frequencies showed that interleukin (IL)-10, -819 C and -592 C alleles was significantly more common in TB patients than in controls (pc: 0.038 and 0.017, respectively). From the IL-10 cluster, a positive significant difference was found at positions -1082 and -592 C/C (pc: 0.027 and 0.054, respectively) genotypes. Although these differences could be explained by the highest frequency of C/C and G/G homozygous patients with TB, in contrast to the control group, statistically significant differences for the C/C genotype however were lost after Bonferroni correction of the P-values.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Altogether, our results suggest that the polymorphisms in HLA (class I) and cytokine (IL-10) genes may affect the susceptibility to TB and increase the risk of developing the disease.
authors.affiliation: Ondokuz Mayis University, Medical School, Department Medical Microbiology, 55139, Samsun, Turkey.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Akgunes
authors.forename: A Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Coban
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Durupinar
mesh_terms: D016207:Cytokines / Q000235:genetics*; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D017931:DNA Primers; D006680:HLA Antigens