Resumen de Association of Interleukin-2, but not Interferon-Gamma, single nucleotide polymorphisms with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

M. Maddah, S. Harsini, A. Rezaei, M. Sadr, S. Zoghi, M.H. Moradinejad, V. Ziaee, Nima Rezaei

• Background Cytokines, including interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), seem to play a role in the pathogenesis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). The aim of this study was to investigate the associations of IL-2 and IFN-γ single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with susceptibility to JIA in an Iranian population.

  Methods Genomic DNA of 54 Iranian patients with JIA and 139 healthy unrelated controls were typed for IL-2 (G/T at −330 and +166) as well as IFN-γ gene (A/T at +874), using polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers method, and compared between patients and controls.

  Results A significantly higher frequency of the IL-2 −330 GG genotype (p < 0.01) was found in the JIA patients compared to the controls. However, the GT genotype at the same position was notably lower than in controls (p < 0.01). Moreover, IL-2 (−330, +166) GT haplotype was more frequent in patients with JIA in comparison with controls. No significant differences was observed between the two groups of case and control for IL-2 (G/T at +166) and IFN-γ (A/T at +874) SNPs.

  Conclusion The results of the current study suggest that certain SNPs of IL-2 gene have association with individuals’ susceptibility to JIA. However, further investigations are required to confirm the results of this study.