Abstract.
The allelic frequencies of TaqI, PstI, and variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphisms of the IL-1β, IL-1 receptor (IL-1Re), and IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) respectively, were investigated in black and white patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and compared with control individuals. Plasma concentrations of IL-1β and IL-1Ra were also determined in these individuals. The IL-1β TaqI(–) allele was significantly more frequent in 50 white IBD patients (60%) compared with 47 white controls (17%), and 20 black patients (20%) (P=0.00001 and P=0.0001, respectively). The IL-1Re PstI(–) allele was significantly more frequent in 20 black patients (75%) compared with 50 white patients (44%) (P=0.0001). The frequency of the IL-1Ra 240-bp allele was lower in black (12%) compared with white controls (25%), (P=0.0151), and the 410-bp allele was more frequent in black (87%) compared with white (73%) controls (P=0.0096). Linkage disequilibrium was found in black individuals homozygous for the 410-bp allele of IL-1Ra, and the PstI(–) allele of IL-1Re (84%) (P=0.0032). There was a significantly increased level of IL-1Ra in black patients compared with white patients and black controls (P=0.0006 and P=0.0008, respectively). The population differences in allelic frequencies of the IL-1 gene cluster and IL-1Ra concentrations suggest that genetic and environmental factors play an important role in susceptibility to IBD.
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Mwantembe, O., Gaillard, MC., Barkhuizen, M. et al. Ethnic differences in allelic associations of the interleukin-1 gene cluster in South African patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and in control individuals. Immunogenetics 52, 249–254 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002510000265
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002510000265