Novel polymorphism in the coding region of the IL-13 receptor alpha ' gene: Association study with atopic asthma in the Japanese population

Interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13 play key roles in the development of atopic as thma, The IL-13 receptor (R) alpha' chain is a component of both IL-4R and IL-13R complexes. By screening the whole coding region of the IL-13R alpha' gene for polymorphisms, we identified a new polymorphism at nucleotide pos ition 1050 from the ATG start codon. The allelic frequency of the C/T polym orphism in the Japanese population was found to be 0.97:0.03, Because of th e low frequency of the T allele, the association study failed to indicate a ny significant association between this polymorphism and atopic asthma in t he Japanese population. Further studies are required in other racial groups with higher frequencies of this polymorphism to elucidate the association. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.