Abstract
Background: Genetics plays an important role in asthma through its interaction with environmental factors. Several studies have assessed the association between IL-10 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) and asthma, but the results were conflicting. Furthermore, population diversities are noticeable and specific genetic markers exist for each population.
Objective: This study was conducted to assess the association of IL-10 promoter polymorphisms (rs1800871 and rs1800896) with asthma, severity and response to treatment in south Indian population.
Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 419 asthmatic patients and 393 non-asthmatic controls. Spirometry to confirm asthma was performed according to ATS (American Thoracic Society) standards. Diagnosis of asthma and its severity was performed according to GINA guidelines. IL-10 polymorphisms were genotyped using Mass ARRAY. 232 asthmatic patients were followed up after two months of ICS (Inhaled corticosteroids) and LABA (long acting β2 agonist) treatment. The improvement in FVC and FEV1 were compared among subjects with different IL-10 SNP variants.
Results: Our results showed an association between IL-10 SNPs and mild asthma. No association was found with any of the SNPs in moderate to severe asthma. Significant improvement in lung function was observed after 2 months of ICS and LABA treatment in all subjects with no statistically significant difference among patients with different SNPs variants.
Conclusion: We observed an association between IL-10 SNPs and mild asthma. Further large scale investigations a long with in-vitro functional experiments are required to assess the potential roles of these polymorphisms in susceptibility to asthma.
- Copyright ©ERS 2015