CD38 and Interleukin 6 Gene Polymorphism in Egyptians with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL)

Given the importance of understanding the genetic variations involved in the pathogenesis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), this pilot study was designed to investigate the impact of CD38 (184C/G; rs6449182) and IL-6 (-174 G/C; rs1800795) gene polymorphism on susceptibility of Egyptians to diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL); major types of NHL. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first one that examines CD38 polymorphism in the NHL. Genotyping polymorphism is performed using restriction fragment length polymorphism-polymerase chain reaction (RFLP-PCR) for CD38 and Mutagenically separated PCR (MS-PCR) for IL-6 in 100 Egyptian NHL patients with DLBCL subtype and 119 normal controls. The serum level of IL-6 was measured using Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). CD38 (184C/G) genotype is significantly increased in NHL patients (p<0.01), while the GG genotype is significantly increased in controls (p<0.05). Only two genotypes were found (GG and GC) in IL-6 (-174), no CC in our NHL patients and only one case in the controls. Insignificant change in IL-6 (-174 G/C) genotypes was recorded. Significantly increased serum IL-6 (p<0.05) was positively correlated (r = 0.17; p<0.05) with the disease. Taken together, our data stressed the importance of CD38 gene polymorphism in developing DLBCL. Our pilot study indicates that CD38 (184) CG genotype might play a role in DLBCL susceptibility in Egyptians. Additional prospective studies on larger population are needed to confirm our findings.