title: Relationship between the IL-4 gene promoter -590C/T (rs2243250) polymorphism and susceptibility to autoimmune diseases: a meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Studies investigating the association between interleukin (IL)-4 gene promoter -590C/T (rs2243250) polymorphism and autoimmune diseases report conflicting results. To derive a more precise estimation of the relationship, a meta-analysis was performed.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic literature search was conducted to identify relevant studies. Pooled odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to estimate the strength of association.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 6001 cases and 6788 controls from 24 studies were analysed. Significant association of the C allele of IL-4 rs2243250 polymorphism with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was detected (odds ratio (OR) = 0.696, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.601-0.807). Stratification by ethnicity indicated an association between the IL-4 rs2243250 polymorphism and RA in Caucasians. Furthermore, the overall ORs of the associations between the C allele and multiple scleorosis (MS) were 1.340 (95% CI = 1.102-1.630). However, we failed to reveal any association between IL-4 rs2243250 polymorphism and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), type 1 diabetes (T1D) or Graves' disease (GD).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study suggests that the IL-4 rs2243250 polymorphism might be associated with genetic susceptibility to autoimmune diseases, including RA and MS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China; Anhui Provincial Laboratory of Population Health & Major Disease Screening and Diagnosis, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China.
authors.forename: L-J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cen
authors.forename: P-F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: H-F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: D-Q
authors.initials: DQ
authors.lastname: Ye
mesh_terms: D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics*; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000235:genetics; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006111:Graves Disease / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000235:genetics*; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000235:genetics; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000235:genetics; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic
chemical_list: D015847:Interleukin-4