RESUMO
We examined the possible relationship between three RAGE polymorphisms, -429C/T, -374 T/A, and 63-bp deletion, and susceptibility to childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in an Iranian population. This study included 75 ALL patients and 115 healthy subjects. Genotyping was performed using HEXA-ARMS-polymerase chain reaction. We found no significant association among RAGE gene polymorphisms and the risk for ALL at genotype, allelic and haplotype levels (P > 0.05). The hemoglobin levels were higher in patients with RAGE -374 TT than in the TA carriers (P = 0.019). Our results demonstrated that the RAGE gene variations were not associated with risk of pediatrics ALL.
Assuntos
Antígenos de Neoplasias/genética , Proteínas Quinases Ativadas por Mitógeno/genética , Polimorfismo Genético , Leucemia-Linfoma Linfoblástico de Células Precursoras/genética , Adolescente , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Feminino , Frequência do Gene , Predisposição Genética para Doença , Haplótipos , Heterozigoto , Humanos , Irã (Geográfico) , Masculino , Polimorfismo de Nucleotídeo ÚnicoRESUMO
BACKGROUND: We analyzed the impact of interleukin (IL)-18 promoter polymorphisms on IL-18 serum levels in Helicobacter pylori-infected duodenal ulcer (DU) patients and healthy asymptomatic (AS) carriers. We also aimed to determine the association of the H. pylori virulence factors CagA and VacA antibodies with serum concentrations of IL-18 in order to elucidate any correlation between them. METHODS: Three groups of patients were enrolled: DU patients (67 individuals), AS carriers (48 individuals), and H. pylori-negative subjects (26 individuals). Serum concentrations of IL-18 were determined by ELISA. Patient sera were tested by Western blot method to determine the presence of serum antibodies to bacterial CagA and VacA. Genotyping of IL-18 promoter polymorphisms at positions - 137G/C and - 607C/A were performed by allele-specific primer PCR protocol. RESULTS: Our study revealed that serum IL-18 levels are positively influenced by CagA-positive H. pylori strains, so that maximum levels of IL-18 were detected in DU patients with the CagA(+) phenotype, regardless of the presence of the anti-VacA antibody. Regarding IL-18 promoter polymorphisms, the AA genotype and A allele at position - 607C/A were found to be significantly lower in DU patients than in AS carriers and H. pylori-negative subjects (p = 0.032 and 0.043, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The IL-18 - 607C variant was associated with higher levels of serum IL-18 and an increased risk of DU. Moreover, our findings indicated that serum concentrations of IL-18 were influenced by CagA factor, irrespective of the VacA status, suggesting that high levels of IL-18 in CagA-positive subjects predisposes to susceptibility to DU.
