Interleukin 8 (-251 T>A) polymorphism in children and teenagers infected with Helicobacter pylori

( ) is a gram-negative bacterium that colonizes the human stomach and causes a variety of gastric diseases. This study evaluated the correlations between the -251 (T>A) (rs4073) polymorphism of interleukin-8 (IL-8), the etiology of gastric disease, and infection in pediatric and adolescent patients. DNA samples were obtained from 285 gastric biopsies from pediatric patients. was detected by PCR, whereas PCR-RFLP was used to characterize the -251 (T>A) polymorphism of IL-8. The histological analysis revealed the presence of gastritis in 158 patients (55.44%). was found in 71 samples (24.9%). The -251 (T>A) polymorphism revealed that 58 (29.47%) samples were TT, 143 (50.18%) samples were TA, and 84 (20.35%) samples were AA. Our findings suggest that IL8-251 A allele may be an important risk factor for the development of gastric disease when associated with infection.