Interleukin-6 Gene Polymorphism and the Risk of Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome Caused by Wasp Sting Injury

Previous studies have shown that serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), which plays an important role in the development of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), is significantly increased in wasp sting patients. However, the association between IL-6 gene variants and the risk of SIRS development in these patients is not clearly understood. In this study, we investigated the association between IL-6 gene polymorphism in the promoter region and the risk of SIRS in wasp sting patients. A total of 160 patients were divided into SIRS group and non-SIRS group (control), and evaluated for polymorphisms in IL-6 (-174G/C, -572G/C, -597G/A, and -634C/G), using DNA sequencing. The IL-6 serum levels were assessed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Risk factors were analyzed by logistic regression analysis. We found that the IL-6 serum level was significantly higher in the SIRS group than in the control group (p<0.001). A significant association was observed in the genotypic distribution of the IL-6-572G allele in the SIRS group, when compared with the control group [OR=3.909 (1.906-8.019), p<0.001], and SIRS is more likely to occur in wasp sting patients with more than 10 stings. Thus, the IL-6-572G allele and more than 10 stings can be used as predictors of risk of SIRS development in wasp sting patients.