Interleukin 4 gene polymorphisms and the risk of tuberculosis: A meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Interleukin-4 (IL-4) is implicated in the progression of tuberculosis (TB); however, these results remain controversial. OBJECTIVES: This meta-analysis examined the relationship between IL and 4 polymorphisms (-589C/T, +4221C > A, and -33C/T) and the risk of TB. METHODS: A retrospective database analysis was conducted using the CNKI and PubMed databases. Using fixed- and random-effects models, we calculated the combined odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: We identified 14 articles related to this topic, and theresultsshowed that the IL-4 -589C/T polymorphism didnotinfluencethe risk of TB. However,in subgroupanalyses we found that the IL-4 -589C/T polymorphism was associated with the risk of TB inCaucasians (recessive modelOR = 2.54, 95% CI = 1.30-4.96). In our study, the IL-4--33C/T polymorphism was not associated with the risk of TB. The IL-4 + 4221C > A polymorphism was associated with the risk of TB (recessive model OR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.07-1.83). CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis showed that the IL-4 -589C/T polymorphism was associated with TB risk in Caucasian populations, and the IL-4 + 4221C > A polymorphism is associated with TB risk.