Interleukin-12 p40 gene (IL12B) 3′-untranslated region polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to atopic dermatitis and psoriasis vulgaris

Tsunemi, Yuichiro; Saeki, Hidehisa; Nakamura, Koichiro; Sekiya, Takashi; Hirai, Koichi; Fujita, Hideki; Asano, Noriko; Kishimoto, Megumi; Tanida, Yuka; Kakinuma, Takashi; Mitsui, Hiroshi; Tada, Yayoi; Wakugawa, Motoshi; Torii, Hideshi; Komine, Mayumi; Asahina, Akihiko; Tamaki, Kunihiko

« Previous Next »Journal of Dermatological Science
Volume 30, Issue 2 , Pages 161-166, November 2002

Interleukin-12 p40 gene (IL12B) 3′-untranslated region polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to atopic dermatitis and psoriasis vulgaris

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 city, 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
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
Megumi Kishimoto
- 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
Takashi Kakinuma
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
Hiroshi Mitsui
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
Yayoi Tada
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
Motoshi Wakugawa
- Department of Dermatology, University of Teikyo Mizonokuchi Hospital, 3-8-3 Mizonokuchi, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki city, Kanagawa 213-8507, Japan
Hideshi Torii
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
Mayumi Komine
- Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan
Akihiko Asahina
- 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 2 May 2002; received in revised form 3 July 2002; accepted 10 July 2002.

Abstract

Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is believed to play an important role in inducing Th1-type cytokine profiles. Atopic dermatitis (AD) and psoriasis vulgaris (PsV) are considered to be Th2 and Th1 type disease, respectively. The IL-12 p40 subunit gene (IL12B) is located at chromosome 5q31-33 and linkage findings of AD on 5q31 were reported. Recently single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (1188A/C) of IL12B has been reported. In function, it has been reported that this SNP is associated with IL12B mRNA expression levels. To learn whether this SNP is associated with susceptibility to AD or PsV, we investigated the genotype and allele frequencies of the SNP in AD patients, in PsV patients and in controls, examining 164 AD patients, 143 PsV patients and 100 healthy individuals in Japanese population. Genotyping was performed using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. The A allele was decreased in AD patients (40.9%, p=0.031) and increased in PsV patients (60.1%, p=0.035) compared with controls (50.5%). This suggests that IL12B SNP is associated with susceptibility to AD and PsV, presumably by affecting the Th1/Th2 balance.

Keywords: Interleukin-12, Single nucleotide polymorphism, Atopic dermatitis, Psoriasis vulgaris, Th1, Th2