Lack of Association Between IL-1 Receptor Antagonist Gene 86bp VNTR Polymorphism and Leiomyoma

Abstract

Background: Uterine leiomyoma (ULs) is the most common gynecological tumor and a significant health concern for many women .The interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) is a naturally occurring cytokine inhibiting interleukin- 1 (IL-1) activity by binding to the IL-1 receptors without signal transduction. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between interleukin-1 receptor antagonist gene variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphism and ULs in women of the South- East of Iran. Patients and Methods: A total number of 99 patients with leiomyoma and 102 controls were studied. Genotyping of IL-1Ra (VNTR) polymorphism was determined by gel electrophoresis after PCR amplification. Frequency of alleles and genotypes in patients and control group was statistically analyzed using χ2 test or fisher exact test. Results: The frequency of alleles 1, 2 and 3 of IL-1Ra VNTR polymorphism were %71, %27 and %22 in control group and %74, %20 and %6 in the ULs patients, respectively and there were no significant differences between these two groups. No statistically significant differences were observed between the frequency of IL-1Ra genotypes in the study and control groups. Conclusions: This study showed that 86bp VNTR polymorphism of IL-1Ra gene is not associated with leiomyoma in the studied population.