Rs4073 single nucleotide polymorphism of interleukin-8 (CXCL8/IL-8) and susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis in Gilan, Northern Iran

Abstract

BackgroundTuberculosis (TB) is an infection in humans that afflicted 10.4 million people in 2015. Interleukin-8 plays an important role in regulating the influx of leukocytes at the site of infection and it is a chemotactic factor for lymphocytes T, neutrophils, and monocytes. ObjectiveIn this study, the relationship between the −251A/T (rs4073) polymorphism of the IL-8 gene and the susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis was investigated. MethodsSingle nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the IL-8 gene at the position −251A/T was analyzed in 44 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and 44 healthy controls using the tetra-primer amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction (ARMS-PCR) method. ResultsThere was no significant difference in the frequencies of the alleles and the variant genotypes in the rs4073 SNP of the IL-8 between patients and the control group (P = 0.344 and P = 0.552, respectively). No significant relationship between the frequency of genotype and gender with susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis was observed in the study population (Males: P = 0.277 and females: P = 0.615). ConclusionThe SNP (rs4073) in the IL8 gene is not associated with susceptibility to pulmonary TB in the Iranian population.