Association of Interleukin‐1 Beta and Interleukin‐1 Receptor Antagonist Gene Polymorphisms and Plasma Levels with Diabetic Nephropathy
Xueling Liao, Yanan Xiao, Ulf Elbelt, Karsten H. Weylandt, Kanghui Li, Jie Deng, Ning Zeng, Chao Xue
Abstract
Objective . We investigated the relationships between interleukin‐ (IL‐) 1 β and IL‐1 receptor antagonist (IL‐1Ra) gene polymorphism and plasma levels in patients with diabetic nephropathy (DN). Methods . The genotype and allele frequency distribution of IL‐1 β and IL‐1Ra in 61 patients with DN and 48 healthy controls (HCs) were determined by kompetitive allele‐specific PCR (KASP), and the plasma concentrations of IL‐1 β and IL‐1Ra in DN patients and HCs were measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Results . Significant differences were detected in the distribution of IL‐1 β (−511C/T) genotype and allele frequencies between the DN and HC groups ( P < 0.05), with the T genotype being more frequent in DN patients than HCs (OR = 2.84, 95% CI: 1.489–5.416). The IL‐1 β (+3953C/T) and IL‐1Ra (+8006C/T) genotypes and allele frequencies were not significantly different between the two groups ( P > 0.05). The plasma IL‐1 β level was significantly higher ( P < 0.01), while the plasma IL‐1Ra concentration was significantly lower in the DN group than the HC group ( P < 0.05). Furthermore, the plasma IL‐1 β level was significantly different between IL‐1 β (−511C/T) locus variants ( P < 0.05). Conclusion . The IL‐1 β (−511C/T) gene polymorphism was significantly associated with DN risk in the population of northern Guangxi, China, and the T allele maybe responsible for genetic susceptibility to DN.