Neither IL-1 beta, IL-1 receptor antagonist, nor TNF-alpha polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility to COPD

The cytokines that contribute to airway inflammation, including interleukin -1 beta (IL-1 beta)and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha), might have key roles in the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COP D). Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RN), the physiological antagonis t of IL-1 beta, is also known to play a crucial role in several chronic inf lammatory diseases. In this study, we investigated the association of the p olymorphisms of IL-1 beta, IL-1RN and TNF alpha with susceptibility to COPD . To elucidate the genotype of the IL-1 beta polymorphisms at position -511 b ase and at the amino acid residue 105, the IL-1RN polymorphism in intron 2, and TNF alpha polymorphism at position -308. polymerase chain reaction (PC R) and restriction enzyme fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) were performe d on blood samples from both patients with COPD (n = 53) and control subjec ts (n = 65). There were no differences on the allele and genotype frequency of IL-1 beta , IL-1RN, and TNF alpha between the two groups. We could not find a significant link between the polymorphism of TNF alpha, which was previously reported to be associated with chronic bronchitis, an d COPD. Furthermore, no association between genetic polymorphisms of IL1-be ta and IL-1RN and individual susceptibility to COPD was found.