Association between interleukin 8-251 A/T and+781 C/T polymorphisms and osteoarthritis risk

Purpose: Interleukin 8 (IL-8), as a member of the CXC chemokine family, has a regulatory role in joint inflammation and cartilage degradation, and contribute to the pathophysiology of osteoarthritis. The aim of the current study was to examine the influence of the IL-8 gene polymorphisms at positions 251 (rs4073) and +781 (rs2227306) on the risk of osteoarthritis. Methods: This hospital-based case-control study comprised 150 patients with osteoarthritis and 150 age-and gender-matched controls. IL-8 251 A/T and +781 C/T polymorphisms were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Results: Patients with osteoarthritis had a significantly higher frequency of IL-8 251 IT genotype [odds ratio (OR) = 2.16, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.09, 4.26; P = 0.03], IL-8 251 T allele (OR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.02, 1.94; P = 0.04), IL-8 +781 TT genotype (OR = 2.79, 95% CI = 1.10, 7.08; P = 0.03) and IL-8 +781 T allele (OR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.02, 2.14; P = 0.04) than controls. But the findings are less emphatic by the Bonferroni correction. When stratifying by body mass index, type, articular involvement, and Kellgren-Lawrence grade, no significant differences were found in any groups. Conclusions: For the first time, the current data suggested that the genotype and T allele of the IL-8 gene polymorphisms at positions 251 and +781 might confer a high risk of osteoarthritis. In the future, additional well-designed large studies were required for the validation of our results. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.