BACKGROUND Inflammation is an important component in the pathogenesis of many cardiovascular diseases and one of the commonest mechanisms in cardiomyopathy. There have been several studies on the cytokine polymorphism and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), but the results obtained were contradictory. AIM To examine a possible role of 22 cytokine gene polymorphisms in host susceptibility to or prot...

BACKGROUND Atopy and allergic phenotypes are biologically characterized by an imbalanced T helper cell response skewed towards a type 2 (TH2) immune response associated with elevated serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels. Polymorphisms in cytokine genes might modulate regulation of the TH1/TH2 balance. We thus aimed at reproducing our previous findings from a European study population on the asso...

Background Tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is the most devastating form of tuberculosis, yet very little is known about the pathophysiology. We hypothesized that the genotype of leukotriene A4 hydrolase (encoded by LTA4H), which determines inflammatory eicosanoid expression, influences intracerebral inflammation, and predicts survival from TBM. Methods We characterized the pretreatment clinical ...

BACKGROUND Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common chronically relapsing skin disease associated with the activation of T-helper 2 cells. Recent studies have shown that polymorphisms in the genes for interleukin (IL)-4, the IL-4 receptor, IL-13, and signal transducer and activator 6 (STAT6) may contribute to susceptibility of AD. To date, no cytokine gene polymorphism study has been conducted on Chi...

interleukin-1β (il-1β), the prototypical pro-inflammatory cytokine, is produced by macrophages following exposure to bacterial products. its role is to act upon several cell types at the site of infection to stimulate the production of pro-inflammatory molecules that will cause increase in vascular permeability. therefore, il-1β regulates the initiation and development of acute inflammation tha...

background: the pro-inflammatory cytokine, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (tnf-α), is a pathogenic element for a number of disorders. previous studies have reported that the -1031 t/c and -238 g/a polymorphisms in the promoter region of the tnf-α gene are important factors in reproductive-related disorders. one of the most common gynecological diseases of women during the reproductive years is end...

irritable bowel syndrome (ibs) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder, characterized by recurrent abdominal pain and altered bowel habits. this study was performed to investigate the important role of interleukin-12 (il-12) in intestinal inflammation. for this study seventy one patients with ibs and 140 controls were investigated. the allele and genotype frequencies of il-12 c(-1188)a were d...

tumor necrosis factor -alpha (tnfα) is a proinflammatory cytokine that plays critical roles in the regulation of immune responses including macrophages activity and apoptosis. tnfα gene is polymorphic and its haplotypes have been associated with resistance or susceptibility to disease. this study was undertaken to identify the polymorphism of tnfα gene in makoei sheep, using polymerase chain re...

OBJECTIVES Suppressor of cytokine signaling 3, myxovirus resistance protein and osteopontin gene polymorphisms may influence the therapeutic response in patients with chronic hepatitis C, and an association with IL28 might increase the power to predict sustained virologic response. Our aims were to evaluate the association between myxovirus resistance protein, osteopontin and suppressor of cyto...

BACKGROUND Bronchial asthma is an inflammatory disease resulting from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the regulatory regions of cytokine and antioxidant enzyme genes may affect cytokine production and enzyme activity, and thus play a contributory role in asthma pathogenesis. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to examine the association ...