CC chemokine receptor 5 polymorphism in Italian patients with Behcet's disease

Objective. To evaluate the potential role of CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5)Delta 32 polymorphism in the susceptibility to and clinical expression of Behcet's disease (BD) in a cohort of Italian patients. Methods. One hundred and ninety-six consecutive Italian patients satisfying the ISG criteria for BD were followed up for 8 years, and 180 healthy age- and sex-matched blood donors were molecularly genotyped for the CCR5 delta 32 polymorphism. A standard microlymphocytotoxicity technique was used to serotype HLA-B51. The patients were subgrouped on the basis of the presence or absence of clinical manifestations. Results. The distribution of the CCR5 delta 32 genotype differed between BD patients and controls (P = 0.02). The CCR5 delta 32 allele was more common in BD patients than in controls [P = 0.02, odds ratio (OR) 2.28 (95% CI 1.1, 4.8)]. Carriers of the CCR5 delta 32 allele (delta 32/delta 32 + CCR5/delta 32) were significantly more common in BD patients than in controls [P = 0.02, OR 2.37 (95% CI 1.1, 5.1)]. Population-attributable risk was 7.1%. In categorizing patients according to gender, the association between CCR5 delta 32 polymorphism and BD was similar in females and males (ORs 2.76 and 2.0, respectively). No significant differences were found when the frequencies of clinical manifestations were compared between CC5R delta 32 allele carriers and non-carriers. Conclusion. CCR5 delta 32 polymorphism is associated with an increased susceptibility to develop BD. Chemokines may have a role in the pathophysiology of BD.