Lack of association of interleukin-10 gene promother polymorphism, -1082g/a, with severe malaria in Thailand

Abstract

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is one of the immunoregulatory cytokines which influence the balance between T helper 1 and T helper 2 cells and plays an important role in the immune response to various pathogens. The IL-10 gene is located on chromosome 1q31-32, and a promoter polymorphism-1082G/A is known to be involved in IL-10 protein production. In order to examine a possible association of the -1082G/A polymorphism with the severity of malaria, we analyzed 203 mild malaria, 164 non-cerebral severe malaria, and 109 cerebral malaria patients living in the northwest of Thailand. In this study, only adult patients whose age was not less than 13 were recruited. The genotyping was performed by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) method using the LightCyclertm . The frequencies of a major allele-1082A in mild malaria, in non-cerebral severe malaria, and in cerebral malaria patients were 92.6%, 92.1%, and 92.7%, respectively. Our results showed no significant association of the -1082G/A polymorphism with the severity of malaria.