Interleukin-1 β gene polymorphisms in Egyptian patients with rheumatoid arthritis

The present study aimed at evaluating the role of IL-1β -511 promoter and IL-1β +3953 exon 5 gene polymorphisms in the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and its correlation to disease activity in Egyptian patients. Thirty-two patients having RA as defined by American College of Rheumatology and 20 healthy control subjects were included. All were subjected to DNA analysis for IL-1β -511and IL-1β +3953 gene polymorphisms using PCR-RFLP technique with restriction enzymes AvaI and TaqI, respectively. No special pattern of association could be detected either between IL-1β -511 and +3953 gene polymorphisms and disease susceptibility or between the polymorphisms and the disease activity parameters represented by disease activity score 28 (DAS 28), ESR, and number of swollen and tender joints. Allele distribution failed as well to detect any association with either disease susceptibility or activity; however, a trend towards positive association involving IL-1β -511 C allele was observed (P = 0.054). Our results suggest that IL-1β -511 and IL-1β +3953 gene polymorphisms do not influence the susceptibility to acquire RA in our population with no relation to disease activity. The complex role of the genetic factors in RA and the magnitude of the effects will require further thorough confirmations in other populations and on larger samples to acknowledge this issue. © 2013 Springer-Verlag London.