Comprehensive analysis of genetic polymorphisms in the interleukin-10 promoter: implications for immune regulation in specific ethnic populations.

The association of interleukin-10 (IL-10) promoter single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as risk factors for certain inflammatory diseases, viral infections, cancers, and transplant rejection have been the subject of recent studies. The SNPs -1082 G --> A, -819 C --> T, and -592 C --> A, which have been associated with differential IL-10 production, are strongly linked with ethnicity. In this study, we determined the ethnic distribution of IL-10 promoter SNPs and their haplotype rates among Hispanics, African Americans, and Caucasians from Texas and Ashkenazi Jews from New York.

A new gene, EVC2, is mutated in Ellis-van Creveld syndrome.

Ellis-van Creveld syndrome (EvC; MIM 225500) is an autosomal recessive chondrodysplastic dwarfism. Thus far, the identified mutations in the EVC gene located on chromosome 4p16 have only accounted for illness in a small proportion of affected individuals. In this report we describe a novel gene, EVC2, that is mutated in an Ashkenazi individual with EvC syndrome.

Genetic polymorphisms of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) and methionine synthase reductase (MTRR) in ethnic populations in Texas; a report of a novel MTHFR polymorphic site, G1793A.

The importance of hyperhomocysteinemia, birth defects, and vascular diseases has been the subject of intense investigations. The polymorphic MTHFR mutations (C677T and A1298C) cause mild hyperhomocysteinemia, especially in homozygotes for C677T, but also in compound heterozygotes for C677T/A1298C. The subject of this report is the frequency of the polymorphic mutations in the MTHFR gene C677T, C1298A, and newly discovered mutation G1793A, as well as the association with MTRR polymorphic site A66G in different ethnic groups.