The interleukin-6 -174 promoter polymorphism is associated with extrapulmonary bacterial dissemination in Streptococcus pneumoniae infection.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is required for the clearance of bacteria in pneumococcal pneumonia. The abundance of endogenous IL-6 production on infectious stimuli is associated with genotypic differences in the -174 promoter region of IL-6 (-174 G-->C), showing increased IL-6 levels in patients carrying the GG genotype. One hundred patients with culturally proven pneumococcal disease were analyzed for distribution of the G-/C-alleles in the IL-6 -174 promoter region in comparison to 50 age-matched controls.

Pneumococcal septic shock is associated with the interleukin-10-1082 gene promoter polymorphism.

Polymorphisms in the tumor necrosis factor and interleukin-10 genes, linked to cytokine inducibility, may influence the inflammatory response to infection. We studied the biallelic interleukin-10-1082 promoter, the tumor necrosis factor-alpha-308 promoter, and the lymphotoxin-alpha polymorphisms with regard to the development of septic shock in pneumococcal infection. Sixty-nine patients with pneumococcal disease (61 patients with community-acquired pneumonia, 5 patients with meningitis, and 3 patients with pneumonia and meningitis) and 50 age-matched control subjects were included.