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Polymorphisms in IL10 are associated with total Immunoglobulin E levels and Schistosoma mansoni infection intensity in a Brazilian population

Genes & Immunity volume 12, pages 46–50 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

Interleukin (IL)-10 is a regulatory cytokine of the helper T cell type 2 (TH2) pathway, which underlies both the host defense to helminthic infection and atopic diseases, including asthma. Although IL10 promoter polymorphisms are associated with increased atopy risk, IL10 variation has not been thoroughly explored in schistosomiasis-endemic populations. Three atopy-related IL10 promoter polymorphisms (rs1800896, rs1800871 and rs1800872), complemented by six tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), were genotyped in 812 individuals in 318 nuclear families from a schistosomiasis-endemic area in Brazil. Associations between markers and total serum Immunoglobulin E (tIgE) levels, indicating non-specific activation of the TH2 pathway, and Schistosoma mansoni fecal egg counts, indicating burden of infection reflecting effectiveness of schistosomiasis host immunity, were performed using family-based transmission disequilibrium tests for quantitative traits (QTDTs). Alleles A, T and A at the three promoter SNPs rs1800896, rs1800871 and rs1800872 were associated with high tIgE levels in the same direction as in atopy populations (P=0.0008, 0.026 and 0.045), but not with egg counts. IL10 promoter polymorphisms appear to influence non-specific tIgE levels, but not schistosomiasis-specific immunity. The tagging SNP rs3024495 was associated with high S. mansoni egg counts (P=0.005), suggesting a novel locus in IL10 may influence clinically relevant burden of infection.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the people of the endemic area in Conde from Buri, Camarao, Genipapo, Sempre Viva and Cobo for their participation in our study, the health liaisons, Adaliudes Conceição, Luciana Quintela, Ivanice Santos, the public health officers of the main Conde office, Analú Lima, Benivaldo Valber Oliveira Silva and Iraci Santos Araujo and students from the Federal University of Bahia who assisted in data collection, Rafael Santana, Roberta Barbosa, Ana Paula Santana, Charlton Barros, Marcele Bradão, Ludmila Almeida, Thiago Cardoso and Daniela Costa. We also thank Tracy Hand, Peisong Gao, Monica Campbell and Itael Evgey for conducting all of the genotyping experiments. Thanks to Dani Fallin and Alan Scott for helpful discussions, and to Priya Duggal and Sabine Plancoulaine for critical reading of the paper. This research was supported by Glaxo-Smith-Kline under the project WE445 entitled ‘Immunogenetics of Schistosomiasis and Asthma,’ and NIH grant # AI050024. KCB was supported in part by the Mary Beryl Patch Turnbull Scholar Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, The Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Baltimore, MD, USA

    A V Grant, K C Barnes & T H Beaty

  2. Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Department of Medicine, JHU, Baltimore, MD, USA

    A V Grant & K C Barnes

  3. Serviço de Imunologia, Hospital Universitário Professor Edgard Santos, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

    M I Araujo, R R Oliveira & A A Cruz

  4. ProAR, Federal University of Bahia School of Medicine, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

    E V Ponte & A A Cruz

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  1. A V Grant
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Correspondence to A V Grant.

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Grant, A., Araujo, M., Ponte, E. et al. Polymorphisms in IL10 are associated with total Immunoglobulin E levels and Schistosoma mansoni infection intensity in a Brazilian population. Genes Immun 12, 46–50 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/gene.2010.50

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