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Interleukin-6 gene polymorphisms in Egyptian children with febrile seizures: a case-control study
Seham F Azab1, Mohamed A Abdalhady2, Alshaymaa Ali3
1Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, 18 Omar Bin Elkhattab St, Al Qawmia, Zagazig City, AlSharqia Governorate, Egypt. Seham_Azab@yahoo.com.
Insights
Certain interleukin-6 (IL6) gene variations are linked to an increased risk of febrile seizures in Egyptian children. Specifically, the -174 GG genotype and the -597 GG genotype are identified as risk factors for febrile seizures.
Area of Science:
- Genetics
- Pediatrics
- Immunology
Background:
- Febrile seizures are the most common seizures in children.
- Interleukin-6 (IL6) is a key pro-inflammatory cytokine.
- Limited research exists on IL6 gene polymorphisms and febrile seizures.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the association between IL6 gene polymorphisms (-174, -572, -597) and febrile seizures in Egyptian children.
- Determine if specific IL6 genotypes are risk factors for febrile seizures.
- Examine the relationship between IL6 genotypes and serum IL6 levels.
Main Methods:
- Case-control study with 100 febrile seizure patients and 100 healthy controls.
- Genotyping of IL6 polymorphisms (-174 G/C, -572 G/C, -597 G/A) using PCR-RFLP.
- Measurement of serum IL6 levels via ELISA.
Main Results:
- Increased frequency of IL6 -174 GG and -597 GG genotypes in children with febrile seizures.
- Significant association between IL6 -597 GG genotype and G allele with susceptibility to complex febrile seizures.
- No association found between IL6 genotypes and serum IL6 levels.
Conclusions:
- IL6 gene polymorphisms at -174 (G allele/GG genotype) and -597 (GG genotype) are risk factors for febrile seizures in Egyptian children.
- The IL6 -597 GG genotype and G allele are associated with increased susceptibility to complex febrile seizures.
- No correlation exists between IL6 genotypes and serum IL6 levels in febrile seizure patients.
Background:
Febrile seizures are the most common form of childhood seizures. Among pro-inflammatory cytokines, interleukin-6 is the key acute-phase cytokine. To date, only a few studies concerned the association of interleukin-6 gene polymorphisms with febrile seizures.In this study, we aimed to investigate 3 cytokine single-nucleotide polymorphisms situated at positions -174 (G/C), -572 (G/C), and -597 (G/A) in the promoter region of the interleukin-6 gene for the first time in Egyptian children with febrile seizures.
Methods:
This was a case-control study included 100 patients with febrile seizure, and matched with age, gender, ethnicity 100 healthy control subjects. Interleukin-6 -174 (G/C), -572 (G/C), and -597 (G/A) polymorphisms were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), while the serum IL6 levels were measured by ELISA method.
Results:
Compared to the controls subjects, the frequency of the -174 GG and -597 GG IL6 genotypes were observed to be increased in children with febrile seizures (OR: 4.17; 95 % CI: 1.86-9.49; P <0.01 and OR: 1.96; 95 % CI: 1.06-3.63;P <0.05, respectively). We found a significant positive association between the -597 GG genotype and susceptibility to complex febrile seizures as did the G allele at the same position (OR: 4.2; 95 % CI: 1.4-13.3 for the GG genotype; P <0.01) and (OR: 2.89; 95 % CI: 1.1-7.7 for the G allele; P <0.05 respectively). Our data revealed no association between IL6- genotypes and serum IL6 levels in patients with febrile seizures (P > 0.05).
Conclusion:
In conclusion, our data brought a novel observation that the presence of a G allele or GG genotype at the -174 and the GG genotype at the -597 positions of the promoter region of the interleukin-6 gene constitute risk factors for developing febrile seizures in Egyptian children. Moreover, we observed a significant positive association between the IL6 -597 GG genotype and susceptibility to complex febrile seizures as did the G allele at the same position. However, we found no association between IL6- genotypes and serum IL6 levels in patients with febrile seizures.
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