Cytokine gene polymorphisms in newborn infants with intzauterine infections

<p>The association of interleukin (IL) lp, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-18 gene promoter region polymorphisms was investigated in 50 newborn infants with intrauterine infections and in 76 healthy neonates. The allelic variants of the genes of these cytokine were established to be related to their production levels. The examined neonatal infants showed nucleotide sequence in the promotor regions of ILip gene at positions -31, +3954, and -511, IL-6 atpositions -174, -572, and -597, IL-18 at positions -656, -137, and +105, and IL-10 at positions —592, —819 and —1082. The single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the promotor regions the genes in the above-mentioned cytokines were found to influence their transcriptional activity, thus altering the level of the respective cytokines. The findings make it possible to use the results of identifying cytokine gene polymorphisms as a predictor of neonatal congenital infection.