Association between TIM-1 gene polymorphisms and allergic rhinitis in a Han Chinese population

Background: tim-1,a member of the t cell immunoglobulin and mucin (tim) domain family,is involved in t-cell differentiation and has been implicated in allergic diseases. an association between tim-1 and allergic rhinitis,however,has not been established. objective: to investigate whether tim-1 gene polymorphisms were associated with allergic rhinitis in a han chinese population. methods: two tim-1 promoter single nucleotide polymorphisms (snps),-416g>c and -1454g>a,were examined in 185 allergic rhinitis patients of han chinese ethnicity using polymerase chain reaction (pcr) and restriction fragment length polymorphism. additionally,exon 4 insertion/deletion polymorphisms in the tim-1 gene were analyzed by pcr,polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis,and silver staining. the relationship between gene polymorphisms and serum specifi c ige levels in this han chinese population was also evaluated. results: we found that the -416g>c and -1454g>a snps were associated with allergic rhinitis susceptibility in this han chinese population. no statistically signifi cant differences in the distribution of genotype or allele frequencies of 5383-5397ins/del and 5509-5511delcaa in exon 4 were observed. the -416g>c and -1454g>a snps were associated with the level of serum ige specifi c to house dust mites in patients with allergic rhinitis. conclusions: these results suggest that tim-1 gene polymorphisms (-416g>c and -1454g>a) are associated with allergic rhinitis susceptibility in a han chinese population. © 2010 esmon publicidad.