Significance of IL-1Ra and IL-6 gene variants in Turkish patients with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever

• Published in: Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine
• Main Authors: Umut Safiye Say Coskun, Ayse Feyda Nursal, Ferdi Gunes, Aydın Rustemoglu, Abdullah Yayli, Nevin Karakus, Huseyin Sener Barut, Serbulent Yigit
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2019
• Subjects: crimean-congo hemorrhagic fever; il-1ra; il-6; variable number of tandem repeat; -572gc; -597ga; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Biology (General); QH301-705.5; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.4103/2221-1691.250864; https://doaj.org/article/09ff7f1da7084a61b8678e55950da12b

Objective: To investigate the association between IL-1Ra variable number of tandem repeat (rs2234663), IL-6 -597GA (rs1800797), IL-6 -572GC (rs1800796) and the risk of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) in the Turkish patients. Methods: This study included 50 patients infected with CCHF and 50 healthy controls. These variants were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction and/or restriction fragment length polymorphism method. Results: The distribution of the IL-6 -572GC genotypes and alleles varied significantly between the patients and the controls. The subjects carrying IL-6 -572GC GG genotype and G allele had increased risk of developing CCHF compared to the control group (P=0.006, P=0.014, respectively). IL-6 -572GC GC genotype was higher in the controls than the patients (P=0.006). For the triple genotype combinations, the 1/2-GC-GG genotype combination was detected more frequently in the control group than CCHF patients (P=0.016). IL-6 (-572/-597) GG-GG genotype was significantly higher in the patient group (P=0.015), while the GC-GG genotype was significantly lower in the patient group (P=0.005). Additionally, the G-G haplotype was significantly higher in the patient group (P=0.042), whereas C-G was found to be significantly lower in the patients than the control group (P=0.037). Conclusions: The results of this study suggest the IL-6 -572GC variant might be genetic markers of sensitivity to CCHF in the Turkish population and may facilitate greater protection against the disease.