Frequency of functional interleukin-10 promoter polymorphism is different between relapse-onset and primary progressive multiple sclerosis

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) secretion affects the inducibility of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and the outcome of multiple sclerosis (MS). Here, we report that a G to A polymorphism in the IL-10 promoter at position -2849 is significantly associated with low IL-10 production. The frequency of this polymorphism is lower among patients with primary progressive compared with patients with relapse-onset MS and control persons. (C) American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, 2002. Published by Elsevier Science Inc.