Abstract
Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is a pleiotropic, pro-inflammatory cytokine that is capable of promoting the Th1 response. A predominant Th1 response induces chronic and persistent inflammatory changes in the gastric mucosa in response to Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential association between IL-18 gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to H. pylori infection in the Korean population. A total of 678 subjects who underwent a routine health check-up were enrolled. The IL-18 gene polymorphisms at positions −656, −607, −137, +113, and +127 were genotyped. H. pylori positivity was demonstrated in 456 subjects (67.3%). The allele frequencies of IL-18 gene polymorphisms at position −137 (rs187238) were different based on the status of H. pylori infection (G vs. C, adjusted OR 0.64 CI: 0.47–0.87, P = 0.005). The results indicate that the genetic variants in the IL-18 gene may be associated with susceptibility to H. pylori infection in the Korean population, suggesting that IL-18 plays a role in the pathogenesis of H. pylori-associated diseases. However, this finding requires further replication and validation.
Highlights
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a microaerophilic, Gram-negative flagellate bacterium that is trophic for the gastric epithelium
The main immunologic response in gastric mucosa induced by H. pylori infection is characterized by the production of many pro-inflammatory cytokines associated with the development of H. pylori-associated diseases[1,2,3,4,5,6]
IL-18, produced mainly by local activated monocytes/macrophages, is a key pro-inflammatory cytokine that is observed in many aspects of the development of inflammation and Th1 responses[10,11,12] and is increased in H. pylori infection[27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34]
Summary
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a microaerophilic, Gram-negative flagellate bacterium that is trophic for the gastric epithelium. Genetic factors that confer susceptibility to H. pylori infection have been extensively studied, and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of candidate genes involved in the inflammatory and immune response, including IL-1A, IL-1B, IL-1RN, IL-8, IL-10, myeloperoxidase (MPO), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α ) and TNF-β , have been examined[7,8,9]. These data suggest that the genetic backgrounds of H. pylori infection are somewhat different. These polymorphisms in the IL-18 promoter gene have been noted as being associated with various inflammatory diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, allergic diseases, and asthma[23,24,25,26]
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