ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Several lines of evidence suggest that host genetic factors influence the outcome of exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The aim of this study was to determine whether polymorphisms in interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) genes associate with the susceptibility or resistance to pulmonary tuberculosis in Korean. METHODS: IL-1beta and IL-1Ra gene polymorphism were investigated in 60 drug sensitive (DS) and 100 multidrug-resistant (MDR) pulmonary tuberculosis cases, and 96 healthy controls. IL-1beta-511/-31/+3954 and IL-1Ra genotype were determined by polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Allelic and genotypic frequencies of IL-1beta-511/-31/+3954 showed no significant difference in 3 groups. IL-1Ra allele 2 heterozygotes were less frequent in DS (p=0.03, OR=0.26, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.95) and MDR tuberculosis (p=0.008, OR=0.26, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.75) than controls, but there was no significant difference between DS and MDR tuberculosis (p=1.00). CONCLUSION: IL-1Ra allele 2 heterozygote may be associated with resistance to pulmonary tuberculosis in Korean. Further studies will be required to confirm whether these results are of biologic significance.