Association between 22 cytokine gene polymorphisms and dilated cardiomyopathy in Macedonian patients.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Inflammation is an important component in the pathogenesis of many cardiovascular diseases and one of the commonest mechanisms in cardiomyopathy. There have been several studies on the cytokine polymorphism and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), but the results obtained were contradictory. AIM: To examine a possible role of 22 cytokine gene polymorphisms in host susceptibility to or protection against DCM in Macedonians. METHODS: In this study 301 healthy unrelated individuals and 52 patients with DCM were studied. Cytokine genotyping was performed by PCR with sequence-specific priming (PCR-SSP) (Heidelberg kit). RESULTS: After the Bonferroni adjustment, the IL-4 -1098/T, IL-4 -1098/TT, IL-4/TCC, and IL-4/TCCTTC cytokine genes were positively associated with DCM, while a negative association was identified for IL-4 -1098/G, IL-4 -1098/GT, IL-1B +3962/CC, IL-4/GCC, and IL-4/GCCTTC. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that some cytokine gene polymorphisms are significantly associated and affect host susceptibility/resistance to DCM in Macedonians.