The Role of IL-10 G-1082A Polymorphism in Hypertrophy of the Pharyngeal Tonsil

Hypertrophy of the pharyngeal tonsil (HPT) is considered one of the most common diseases of the ENT organs. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of interleukin 10 (IL-10) gene polymorphism and infections caused by human herpesviruses 6 (HHV6), cytomegalovirus (CMV), and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in children with HPT. The study included 106 children with HPT and 38 healthy children at the age from 2 to 11 years. All children with HPT were divided into three subgroups depending on the pharyngeal tonsil size. Viruses were determined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction using commercially available kits (QIAGEN, Germany). In patients with HPT, HHV6 was more frequently detected as compared with CMV and EBV. Among the three subgroups of children with HPT, infections with HHV6 and EBV viruses predominated in children with a maximal degree of hypertrophy of the pharyngeal tonsil. The frequency of the IL-10 gene rs1800896 GG genotype was higher in the control group of children. Significantly higher frequencies of the G allele and GG and GA genotypes for this gene were detected in the subgroup of children with the lowest size of the pharyngeal tonsil as compared with other subgroups. We hypothesized that infections with HHV6 and EBV can contribute to an increase in the pharyngeal tonsil size. The IL-10 rs1800896 GG genotype can contribute to resistance to hypertrophy of the pharyngeal tonsil.