Association of interleukin-10 promoter region polymorphisms with risk factors of Atherosclerosis

Abstract

Summary Atherosclerosis is considered as an inflammatory dis- ease, and carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) and carotid plaque are generally used as intermedi- ated phenotype of atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to investigate whether carotid IMT and plaque are associated with promoter region polymor- phisms of interleukin 10 (IL-10) gene. We recruited 135 subjects from a rural area of south-eastern part of South Korea. Three polymorphisms in the pro- moter region of IL-10 (1082 A/G, 819 T/C and 592 A/C) were genotyped by pyrosequencing. Caro- tid IMT was measured at common carotid arteries, and carotid bulbs and cardiovascular risk factors such as cholesterol, blood pressure, uric acid and homocy- steine were measured using blood samples. Subjects with the minor allele (C) of 819 T/C or the minor allele (C) of 592A/C showed lower values in carotid IMT than those with major allele homozygote of each polymorphism (P = 0.018 and P = 0.031, respectively). Subjects with carotid plaque were signif- icantly older and showed higher values in carotid IMT, uric acid and homocysteine than those without plaque (P < 0.01, respectively). In conclusion, the promoter region polymorphisms of IL-10 gene associ- ate with carotid IMT and plaque. Further studies with larger samples are needed to provide stronger evidence to justify anti-atheromatous properties of IL-10.