Association of Interleukin-18)-607A/C) gene polymorphism with allergic rhinitis in Chaharmahal-va-Bakhtiari province

Allergy is regarded as a multifactorial condition that its onset and severity are influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Hence, identification of genetic factors involved in allergic rhinitis development and its related phenotypes is a major task in understanding the genetic background of allergic rhinitis. This study was designed to examine the association between IL-18 -607 A/C promoter polymorphism on chromosome 11q22 and allergic rhinitis. In this analytic study, genomic DNA was obtained from the blood samples of 293 patients with allergic rhinitis and 218 healthy controls by standard phenol chloroform method. The IL-18/-607 A/C polymorphism was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis. To analyze the association between genotypes and alleles and the disease in the case group compared with the control group, X2 test was used. The frequency of the AC genotype of the IL-18/-607 A/C gene polymorphism was significantly greater in allergic rhinitis patients than in controls (p<0.05). By comparing the frequency of AA genotype with other genotypes, OR was calculated as 2.03. The results suggest that IL-18/-607 A/C polymorphism gene may be one of the factors participating in the pathogenesis of AR or its intermediary phenotypes.