Association of cytokine gene polymorphisms with osteoarthritis susceptibility.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a multifactorial disease characterized by low-grade inflammatory processes that are mediated initially by the cells and factors of the innate immune system. In addition to their key role in inflammation, cytokines contribute to the pathogenesis of OA through angiogenesis and chemotaxis. The purpose of the present case-control study was to investigate a possible association of four cytokine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), IL-4R -3223C>T (rs2057768), IL-8 -251T>A (rs4073), IL-10 -1082A>G (rs1800896) and TNF -A-308G>A (rs1800629) with OA susceptibility.