title: Genetic variants of interleukin-4 gene in autoimmune thyroid diseases: an updated meta-analysis.
abstract: Autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDs) including Graves' disease (GD) and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) are common autoimmune endocrine disorders. Interleukin-4 (IL-4), a cytokine secreted by T cells, plays a critical role in antigen-specific Th2 responses. The IL-4 gene is highly polymorphic and it has been reported that the polymorphism at -590 (T/C, rs2243250) in the promoter region of IL-4 may contribute to the development of AITDs. Recently, several case-control studies have examined the association of genetic variants of IL-4 with AITDs. However, the results of these studies remain conflicting. To systematically study the role of IL-4 in the pathogenesis of AITDs, we conducted a meta-analysis including 11 eligible studies (1847 cases and 2068 healthy controls). Fixed-effect or random-effect models were used to calculate pooled odds ratios (ORs) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Our results revealed a significant association between the IL-4 genetic variant (-590, T/C, rs2243250) and the risk of developing AITDs (TC + TT versus TT genotype: OR = 1.83, 95% CI = 1.083-3.091, p = 0.024). These findings demonstrate that the IL-4 rs2243250 genetic variant might play a key role in the development of AITDs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, Taizhou Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University , Taizhou, Zhejiang , China .
authors.forename: Xiaokun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Xingqiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Bojian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Kuifeng
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jiansheng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Jichen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xiaohua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Feilin
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cao
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015870:Gene Expression; D005787:Gene Frequency; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006111:Graves Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D050031:Hashimoto Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D008957:Models, Genetic; D016017:Odds Ratio; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
chemical_list: C508598:IL4 protein, human; D015847:Interleukin-4
keywords: Graves' disease; Hashimoto's thyroiditis; interleukin-4; meta-analysis; polymorphism