ABSTRACT
Background: Inflammatory cytokines have been known to be associated with Chronic Heart Failure [CHF]. Given the importance of cytokines in the context of the failing heart, the prevalence of Interleukin-2 [IL-2] and Interferon-gamma [IFN-Gamma] polymorphisms was studied in patients with CHF due to ischemic heart disease in a casecontrol study
Methods: Fifty-six Iranian patients with CHF were enrolled in this study as the case group and compared with 139 healthy subjects, using polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers method, so as to determine the frequency of alleles, genotypes and haplotypes of IFN-Gamma [+874 A/T] and IL-2 [-330 G/T, +166 G/T] SNPs
Results: The GG genotype at IL-2 -330 in patients with CHF was significantly overrepresented in comparison with the control group [p=0.013]. Such a positive genotypic association was also observed for IL-2 +166/TT [p=0.022]. Meanwhile, the GT genotype frequency at IL-2 -330/GT in the patient group was significantly lower than the one in healthy controls [p=0.049]. No significant association was detected between the IFN-Gamma gene polymorphisms and individuals' susceptibility to CHF
Conclusion: Certain genotypes in IL-2 gene were overrepresented in patients with CHF, which could render individuals more vulnerable to this disease