Interleukin-4 and interleukin-10 polymorphisms and antituberculosis drug-induced hepatotoxicity in Chinese population

What is known and objectiveEvidence demonstrates that the delicate balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines determines the further progress to severe injury or recovery. Therefore, understanding which cytokines are associated with the development of drug-induced hepatotoxicity (DIH) might guide the prevention and therapeutic direction. Some polymorphisms of cytokine genes have been reported to be associated with DIH involving interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-10 (IL-10) and tumour necrosis factor- (TNF-); however, these studies are still scanty with inconsistent results. In addition, most of these associations have not been investigated in antituberculosis drug-induced hepatotoxicity (ATDH) patients with the exception of TNF- polymorphisms. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association between IL-4 and IL-10 gene polymorphisms with the risk of ATDH in a Chinese population. MethodsThe study was designed as a nested case-control study within a prospective cohort. Each case was matched with four controls by sex, age at baseline (5years), treatment history, disease severity, drug dosage and place of sample collection. Genetic polymorphisms of IL-4 and IL-10 were determined by TaqMan single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping assay. Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) was estimated by conditional logistic regression model. Results and discussionA total of 89 incident ATDH cases and 356 controls undergoing antituberculosis treatment were included. Six SNPs were selected for genotyping, which were rs2243289, rs2243250 and rs2070874 for IL-4, and rs1800896, rs1800871 and rs1800872 for IL-10. No significant difference was observed in genotypes frequencies of the six selected SNPs between case and control group, and the distributions of IL-4 and IL-10 haplotypes were similar in ATDH patients and controls. What is new and conclusionThis study is the first attempt to evaluate the associations of genetic polymorphisms of IL-4 and IL-10 genes with ATDH using a nested case-control study design. We provide preliminary evidence that there is no statistically significant association between IL-4 and IL-10 genotypes/haplotypes and the risk of ATDH in Chinese population.