Association of interleukin-1 gene cluster polymorphisms with ischemic stroke in a Chinese population

Abstract

Chronic inflammatory process plays an important role in atherothrombosis. Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is one of the key modulators of the inflammatory response and its activity is critically regulated by its receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra). A variable number tandem repeat polymorphism in intron 2 of IL-1Ra gene and a C to T single base polymorphism in the promoter of IL-1beta gene (C(-511)-->T) have been reported to affect the levels of IL-1 as well as its antagonist, IL-1Ra. It is also reported in several studies that these polymorphisms are associated with the susceptibility to cardio-cerebral vascular disease. However, data are limited in China. In this article, we studied the relationships between these polymorphisms and the risk of ischemic stroke in China. One hundred and twelve patients committed ischemic stroke were compared with 95 demographically matched healthy volunteers. The frequencies of the IL-1Ra 1/1 genotype and IL-1Ra allele 1 (Ra*1 allele) in stroke patients were significantly higher than those in healthy volunteers [93.7% vs. 82.1%, P =0.014; 0.964 vs. 0.905, P =0.007]. No significant differences were found in the IL-1beta -511 genotype and the allele distribution between the two groups. Our results implicated that IL-1 gene polymorphism might be associated with the susceptibility to ischemic stroke.