Correlating interleukin-10 promoter gene polymorphisms with human cerebral infarction onset

Evidence suggests that interleukin-10 (IL-10) deficiency exacerbates inflammation and worsens the outcome of brain ischemia. In view of the critical role of the single nucleotide polymorphic sites -1082 (A/G) and -819 (C/T) in the promoter region of the IL-10 gene, we hypothesized that they are associated with cerebral infarction morbidity in the Chinese Han population. We genotyped these allelic gene polymorphisms by amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction methods in 181 patients with cerebral infarction (cerebral infarction group) and 115 healthy subjects (control group). We identified significant differences in genotype distribution and allele frequency of the IL-10-1082 A/G allele between cerebral infarction and control groups (χ (2) = 6.643, P = 0.010). The IL-10-1082 A allele frequency was significantly higher in the cerebral infarction group (92.3%) than in the control group (86.1%) (P = 0.015). Moreover, cerebral infarction risk of the AA genotype was 2-fold higher than with the AG genotype (OR = 2.031, 95%CI: 1.134-3.637). In addition, AA genotype together with hypertension was the independent risk factor of cerebral infarction (OR = 2.073, 95%CI: 1.278-3.364). No statistical difference in genotype distribution or allele frequency of IL-10-819 C/T was found between cerebral infarction and control groups (P > 0.05). These findings suggest that the IL-10-1082 A/G gene polymorphism is involved in cerebral infarction, and increased A allele frequency is closely associated with occurrence of cerebral infarction.