Two CD14 promoter polymorphisms and atopic phenotypes in Czech patients with IgE-mediated allergy

Background: Immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated allergy belongs to common chronic disorders resulting from an interaction between both genetic and environmental factors. The gene encoding CD14 is a positional candidate gene for allergic diseases as it is localized on chromosome 5q31.1, a region that is linked to asthma and bronchial hyperresponsiveness. Recently, several polymorphisms in the promoter region of this gene have been associated with atopic phenotypes in various populations. Methods: We investigated relationship among atopic phenotypes and two polymorphisms [ C(-159) T and G(-1359) T] in the promoter of the CD14 gene in the Czech population. Polymerase chain reaction with restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses was used to determine the CD14 genotypes in subjects with IgE-mediated allergic diseases ( n = 562) and random controls ( n = 320). Results: The CD14 allele or genotype distributions were similar in patients and control group. How ever, the frequency of the C allele of the C(-159) T polymorphism was higher in patients with positive skin prick tests for moulds than in patients without reactivity to this antigen ( P < 0.002, P-corr< 0.01). In addition, we found that patients with homozygous genotype (GG) of the G(-1359) T polymorphism had marginally lower percentage of positive skin prick tests compared with the other genotypes ( P < 0.029, P-corr > 0.05). Conclusions: Our study supports the idea that CD14 gene variants may act as disease modifiers of IgE-mediated allergic diseases.