Polymorphisms at-174 and in the 3 ' flanking region of interleukin-6 (IL-6) gene in patients with myasthenia gravis

We examined the bi-allelic polymorphism at - 174 in the promoter region and the polymorphism in the 3' flanking AT rich region of the interleukin-6 (I L-6) gene in Swedish patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) and ethnically ma tched healthy individuals. There was no association between the polymorphis ms and the disease. There was no relation of the polymorphisms to the clini cal variables, the thymic histopathologies, the level of serum acetylcholin e receptor antibodies or the concentrations of IgG and its subclasses. Our data yield no evidence for the IL-6 gene contributing to the disease suscep tibility. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.