Analysis of IL6 and IL1A gene polymorphisms in UK and Dutch patients with sarcoidosis.

Background: Proinflammatory cytokines are a major determinant in the inflammatory events leading to sarcoidosis. Genetic variations in the genes encoding these cytokines might contribute to sarcoidosis susceptibility, disease severity and outcome.

Methods: In the present study we genotyped two clinically well-defined cohorts of Caucasian sarcoidosis patients from different European countries (each with their own controls) for the following polymorphisms using SSP-PCR: IL6 -174(G/C), IL6 intron 4(A/G) and IL1A-889(C/T).

Increased frequency of the uncommon tumor necrosis factor -857T allele in British and Dutch patients with sarcoidosis.

Interindividual variation in the expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha suggests the existence of functionally distinct TNF alleles, which might play a role in sarcoidosis. We investigated five potentially functional biallelic TNF promoter polymorphisms at nucleotide positions -1,031(T/C), -863(C/A), -857(C/T), -307(G/A), and -237(G/A) in two clinically well-defined groups of white patients (British [UK] and Dutch [NL]) with sarcoidosis, each with their own control subjects. Polymorphisms were determined using SSP-PCR.