Genetic association between interleukin-10 gene promoter region polymorphisms and type 1 diabetes age-at-onset

This study investigated whether interleukin-10 (IL-10) gene promoter region polymorphisms are associated with susceptibility to or clinical presentation of type 1 diabetes. The frequency of -1082G/A, -819C/T, and -592C/A polymorphisms was analyzed in 128 Japanese patients with type 1 diabetes and in 107 healthy control subjects in a case-controlled study. The allelic and haplotypic frequencies of the IL-10 gene promoter region polymorphisms were similar in patients with type 1 diabetes and in control subjects. However, the -819T and -592A allele were associated with adult-onset (>18 years) of the disease ( p = 0.037). Furthermore, the frequency of ATA haplotype was increased in adult-onset patients than that in early-onset patients (≤18 years; p = 0.037). Among the genotypes comprising ATA haplotype, the frequency of ATA/ATA was significantly higher in adult-onset patients than in early-onset patients ( p = 0.004). These results suggest that the IL-10 gene promoter polymorphisms are associated with the age-at-onset in Japanese patients with type 1 diabetes.