TNF-alpha [-308], IL-10 [-1082] and IL-1Ra [VNTR] gene polymorphism in leprosy cases from the Nile Delta region of Egypt

ABSTRACT

This study examined the genotype frequencies of three promoter polymorphic sites in the TNF-alpha, IL-10 and IL-genes as well as IL-1Ra VNTR in leprotic patients to investigate whether the genetic regulation of their production could be implicated in leprosy pathogenesis and prognosis. DNA from 47 leprotic patients and 42 healthy controls, all from Gharbia, Egypt, were examined with the polymerase chain reaction in a case-controlled study. The polymorphic sites in genes of the TNF-alpha at position -308, IL-10 at position -1082 and IL-6 at position -174 as well as 86-base pair variable number tandem repeat within intron 2 of the IL-1Ra gene were determined. It was speculated that there is a complex interaction between cytokine gene polymorphisms and phenotypic iversity of cells network that contribute to the host defense