Interleukin-13 gene polymorphism G4257A is associated with atopic dermatitis in Japanese patients

Tsunemi, Yuichiro; Saeki, Hidehisa; Nakamura, Koichiro; Sekiya, Takashi; Hirai, Koichi; Kakinuma, Takashi; Fujita, Hideki; Asano, Noriko; Tanida, Yuka; Wakugawa, Motoshi; Torii, Hideshi; Tamaki, Kunihiko

« Previous Next »Journal of Dermatological Science
Volume 30, Issue 2 , Pages 100-107, November 2002

Interleukin-13 gene polymorphism G4257A is associated with atopic dermatitis in Japanese patients

Yuichiro Tsunemi
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +81-3-5800-8661; fax: +81-3-3814-1503
Hidehisa Saeki
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
Koichiro Nakamura
- Department of Dermatology, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, 1 Hikarigaoka, Fukushima 960-1295, Japan
Takashi Sekiya
- Department of Allergy and Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
Koichi Hirai
- Department of Allergy and Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
Takashi Kakinuma
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
Hideki Fujita
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
Noriko Asano
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
Yuka Tanida
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
Motoshi Wakugawa
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
Hideshi Torii
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
Kunihiko Tamaki
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan

Received 28 March 2002; received in revised form 6 June 2002; accepted 12 June 2002.

Abstract

Interleukin (IL)-13 plays an important role in the induction of immunoglobulin E (IgE) and in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD). We investigated the allele and genotype frequencies of three IL-13 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (A704C and C1103T in the promoter region and G4257A in exon 4) in Japanese patients with AD. For A704C and C1103T SNPs, there were no significant differences in allele or genotype frequencies between AD patients and controls. For G4257A SNP, A allele was significantly increased in AD patients (39.5%) compared with controls (29.4%) (P=0.016). The same proportion of each genotype and allele was observed in the patient subgroup with and without asthma. Serum IgE levels and peripheral eosinophil counts were not significantly different among genotypes in G4257A SNP. There was also no significant difference in allele or genotype frequencies between AD patients with mild disease and those with severe disease, between those with family history of AD and those without it, or between those with family history of atopic disorders and those without it. This result suggests that 4257A allele is associated with susceptibility to AD and that it may function in the pathogenesis of AD itself, presumably by other mechanisms than inducing IgE production.

Keywords: Atopic dermatitis, Interleukin-13, Single nucleotide polymorphism, Asthma, Immunoglobulin E