Association of IL-4 and IL-18 genetic polymorphisms with atopic dermatitis in Chinese children

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease, adversely affecting nearly 20% of the pediatric population worldwide. Interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-18 (IL-18) are considered to be involved in the pathogenesis and development of AD. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of and gene polymorphisms with the susceptibility and severity of AD in Chinese children. Six candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in and genes were genotyped through multi-PCR combined with next-generation sequencing in 132 AD children and 100 healthy controls, and all the analyses were performed on blood genome DNA. The frequencies of G allele, CG genotype and CG + GG genotype of rs2243283, as well as the haplotype /GTT (rs2243283-rs2243250-rs2243248) were all significantly decreased in AD patients compared with the controls [G vs. C: = 0.033, OR = 0.59; CG vs. CC: = 0.024, OR = 0.47; CG + GG vs. CC: = 0.012, OR = 0.49; GTT vs. CCT: = 0.011, OR = 0.65]. Moreover, the frequencies of A allele, AA genotype and AG + AA genotype of rs7106524, along with the haplotype /CAA (rs187238-rs360718-rs7106524) were statistically increased in the severe AD patients (A vs. G: