Association between interleukin 18 polymorphisms and alopecia areata in Koreans

Interleukin 18 (interferon gamma-inducing factor) (IL18) is an important proinflammatory cytokine that belongs to the IL1 family. This study investigated whether IL18 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are associated with the susceptibility to alopecia areata (AA) in a Korean population. Two hundred thirty-three AA patients and 243 healthy control subjects were recruited. One promoter SNP (rs187238, -137G/C) and exonic SNP (rs549908, Ser35Ser) in IL18 were genotyped using direct sequencing. SNPStats, SPSS 18.0, and Haploview version 4.2 programs were used to evaluate genetic data. Multiple logistic regression models were used to determine odds ratios, 95% confidence intervals, and P values. Tested 2 SNPs (rs187238 and rs549908) were associated with the development of AA (rs187238, P=0.002 in a codominant model 1, P=0.0048 in a dominant model, P=0.02 in a log-additive model, P=0.023 in allele distribution; rs549908, P=0.003 in a codominant model 1, P=0.0052 in a dominant model, P=0.016 in a log-additive model, P=0.015 in allele distribution). Our data suggest that the IL18 may be a risk factor for AA susceptibility.