OBJECTIVETo investigate the relationship between the promoter polymorphism of IL-4 and IL-6 and chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS).

METHODSOne hundred and twenty-three patients with CRS and 239 healthy controls in Shanghai region were chosen in this study. The genotype of IL-4 gene -33T>C and -590C>T were determined using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method and the genotype of IL-10 gene -1082A>G was determined using amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction (ARMS-PCR) method. Statistical calculations were performed using SAS 8.2 software.

RESULTSSignificant differences were found in genotype distribution of -33T>C and -590C>T between the CRS group and the control group (χ2=6.6013, P=0.0102, χ2=6.6013, P=0.0304), and -33T>C remained significant following application of the Bonferroni correction (P<0.025). The relative risks of CRS with -33T>C and -590C>T were 1.818(P=0.0236, 95%CI 1.084-3.050) and 1.838 (P=0.0147, 95%CI 1.127-2.997). There was linkage disequilibrium (LD) between the -33T>C and -590C>T. The coefficient of linkage disequilibrium (D') was 0.77 and the related coefficient (r2) was 0.54. The -33T/-590T haplotype was associated with CRS and the relative risk was 1.653 (P=0.0130, 95%CI 1.107-2.469). There were only two genotypes of IL-10 gene-1082A>G and the frequencies of the AA and AG genotypes were not different between the CRS and control groups.

CONCLUSIONThe promoter polymorphism of IL-4 -33T>C and -590C>T were associated with the susceptibility of CRS and the -33T/-590T haplotype was a risk factor for CRS, but there were no association between the -1082A>G and CRS.