Abstract
Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is an
immunologically-mediated lung disease caused
by repeated inhalation of dispersed antigen.
Various cytokines have been reported to be
involved in the immunopathogenesis of HP.
Recently, some reports suggested an association
between the genetic control of cytokine production
and disease susceptibility. To evaluate whether
cytokine gene polymorphisms are associated with
HP, we performed a case-control association
study involving 61 patients with HP, consisting of
summer-type HP (SHP) and bird fancier’s lung
(BFL, also named bird fancier’s disease), as well as
101 healthy controls. Polymorphisms of the genes
for tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α (－ 308G/A,
－857C/T, －863C/A, －1031T/C), interleukin (IL)-10
(－ 592C/A, － 819C/T, － 1082G/A), transforming
growth factor (TGF)-β1 (－509C/T, ＋869T/C), and IL-
6 (－634C/G) were examined by restriction fragment
length polymorphism analysis. There were no significant
differences in allele frequency and genotype
distribution among control, SHP, and BFL
group. When HP group was divided into acute or
chronic, no significant differences were detected
between any groups. LPS-stimulated IL-6 secretion
by whole blood cells was similar between subjects
with GG genotype and non-GG genotype in IL-6
－634C/G polymorphism.
In conclusion, the association between HP susceptibility
and cytokine polymorphisms studied
was not demonstrated.
