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Gene polymorphisms of immunoregulatory cytokines and angiotensin-converting enzyme in Wegener's granulomatosis

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Abstract

Wegener's granulomatosis is a granulomatous and vasculitic disease of unknown origin. Gene polymorphisms are known to affect phenotypes of numerous diseases. Polymorphisms within the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), and interleukin-10 (IL-10) genes are suspected to modify the course of granulomatous disorders. We examined whether the genotype frequencies of the named polymorphisms differ in Wegener's granulomatosis from those in healthy controls. Thirty-nine patients with Wegener's granulomatosis were genotyped for the deletion/insertion polymorphism in intron 16 of the ACE gene, a biallelic polymorphism in codon 25 of the TGF-β1 gene and a biallelic polymorphism at position –1082 of the IL-10 gene and compared with healthy blood donors. For the ACE polymorphism no significant differences were detected neither in the allele frequencies nor in the genotype frequencies. For TGF-β1 a trend to genotype CG was found. The most interesting result was the observed, significant shift to genotype AA of the IL-10 polymorphism in Wegener's granulomatosis. IL-10 and TGF-β1, immunoregulatory cytokines capable of down-regulating T helper cell type 1 response, showed a significant shift or a trend, respectively towards genotypes associated with reduced cytokine release, leading to the hypothesis that different immunoregulatory cytokine patterns dependent on gene polymorphisms might be involved in the pathogenesis of Wegener's granulomatosis.

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Muraközy, G., Gaede, K.I., Ruprecht, B. et al. Gene polymorphisms of immunoregulatory cytokines and angiotensin-converting enzyme in Wegener's granulomatosis. J Mol Med 79, 665–670 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s001090100263

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s001090100263

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