Interleukin 18 Polymorphisms and its serum level in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Area of Science:

• Neuroimmunology
• Genetics of autoimmune diseases
• Biomarkers for neurological disorders

Background:

• Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic central nervous system demyelinating disease with poorly understood pathogenesis.
• Environmental and genetic factors are implicated in MS development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the serum levels of interleukin-18 (IL-18).
• To analyze gene polymorphisms of IL-18 (rs1946518, rs360719, and rs187238) in relation to MS.

Main Methods:

• A case-control study involving 110 MS patients and 110 healthy controls.
• IL-18 serum levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
• IL-18 gene polymorphisms were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction high-resolution melt (PCR-HRM) analysis.

Main Results:

• MS patients exhibited significantly higher mean serum IL-18 levels (341.56 ± 39.22 Pg/Ml) compared to controls (146.52 ± 29.30 Pg/Ml) (P < 0.001).
• Significant differences in genotype frequencies were observed for the IL-18 rs1946518 polymorphism between MS patients and controls (P = 0.037).
• No significant differences were found for rs360719 and rs187238 polymorphisms.

Conclusions:

• Elevated serum IL-18 levels and altered frequencies of specific IL-18 gene polymorphisms are associated with MS.
• These findings highlight the potential role of IL-18 in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis.
• Further research with larger sample sizes is recommended to validate these results.