Abstract
This study aimed to elucidate the associations between interleukin-4 (IL-4) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), 590C/T and 589C/T, serum IL-4 levels, and atopic dermatitis (AD) in children. Methods. A total of 82 children with AD were randomly selected as the case group and divided into mild group (15 cases), moderate group (46 cases), and severe group (21 cases). Additionally, 100 healthy children were selected as the control group. Genotype frequencies of IL-4 SNPs were detected by PCR-RFLP. Serum IL-4 levels were measured by ELISA. Results. Significant differences were shown in genotype distributions and allele frequencies of 589C/T and allele frequencies of 590C/T (all P < 0.05). Serum IL-4 levels in the mild, moderate, and severe groups were significantly higher than those in the control group; significant differences were found among these three groups with increased severity of AD. Serum IL-4 levels of heterozygote and mutant homozygote carriers in the mild, moderate, and severe groups were higher than wild homozygote carriers in those three groups and the control group (all P < 0.05). Conclusion. 590T and 589T alleles of IL-4 gene may be associated with high levels of serum IL-4, which may increase the risk of AD in children.
Highlights
Atopic dermatitis (AD), known as atopic eczema, genetic allergic dermatitis, or constitutional prurigo, is the most common allergic inflammatory disease, which shows an apparent tendency of familial aggregation [1, 2]
AD is a disease coregulated by multiple genes, approaches, and factors which attracted an increasing number of scholars to study its pathogenesis in recent years because of high incidence and lack of specific treatment plans
Previous study performed by Vafa et al showed that the prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum infection was associated with the IL-4 -590 T allele in Fulani ethnic group [17]
Summary
Atopic dermatitis (AD), known as atopic eczema, genetic allergic dermatitis, or constitutional prurigo, is the most common allergic inflammatory disease, which shows an apparent tendency of familial aggregation [1, 2]. It has been reported that nearly 50% of children with AD develop symptoms within the first 6 months of life and approximately 85% of individuals with eczema have onset of symptoms by the age of 5 years [4, 5]. There are substantial differences in prevalence of AD between and within countries because of geographic distributions along with economic development. AD incidence in developed countries is up to 10% to 20% [6, 7]. The pathogenesis of AD remains unclear, and previous studies on genetic epidemiology showed that AD was a polygenic disease [2, 8]
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