Cytokine (IL-6) and chemokine (IL-8) gene polymorphisms among rheumatoid arthritis patients in Taiwan.

Abstract

The IL-6 -572 G/C and IL-8 3'-UTR 2767A/G polymorphisms are not associated with the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. However, the finding that patients with IL-8 3'-UTR 2767AA developed RA at a younger age suggests that this genotype may influence the etiopathology of RA in patients in Taiwan. Therefore, further single nucleotide polymorphism studies of this 3'UTR region may give more novel findings and understanding of the genetic basis of rheumatoid arthritis.