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Genetic variants of the IL13 and IL4 genes and atopic diseases in at-risk children

Genes & Immunity volume 4, pages 385–389 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

We studied a cohort containing 368 children at high risk of developing atopy and atopic disorders and 540 parents of those children to investigate whether the IL13 Arg130Gln and C−1112 T polymorphisms were associated with these outcomes. We also investigated whether haplotypes consisting of any two polymorphisms of IL13 Arg130Gln, IL13 C−1112 T and IL4 C−589 T were associated with these phenotypes. In 288 white children, the IL13 130Gln allele was associated with atopy (RR=1.9, P=0.047), and with atopic dermatitis (RR=2.5, P=0.014). The associations were confirmed using a family-based test of association (P=0.027 and 0.030, respectively) in all subjects. In white subjects there were associations of haplotypes consisting of IL13 Arg130Gln and IL4 C−589 T with atopic dermatitis (P=0.006) and with atopy (P=0.009). Our data suggest that the IL13 Arg130Gln polymorphism and haplotypes consisting of IL13 Arg130Gln and IL4 C−589 T were associated with the development of atopy and atopic dermatitis at 24 months of age.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and by the Respiratory Health Network of Centres of Excellence, Canada. Dr Sandford was supported by a Parker B Francis Fellowship and is a recipient of a Canada Research Chair in genetics. We thank Dr Peter Paré for critical appraisal of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. McDonald Research Laboratories/iCAPTURE Center, St Paul's Hospital, University of British Columbia, Canada

    J-Q He & A J Sandford

  2. Department of MedicineThe Occupational and Environmental Lung Diseases Unit, Department of Medicine, The Occupational and Environmental Lung Diseases Unit, UBC, Canada

    M Chan-Yeung & H Dimich-Ward

  3. Department of Pediatrics, The Section of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, University of Manitoba, Canada

    A B Becker, J Manfreda & W T A Watson

  4. The Division of Allergy, Department of Paediatrics, University of British Columbia, Canada

    A C Ferguson

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  1. J-Q He
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Correspondence to A J Sandford.

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He, JQ., Chan-Yeung, M., Becker, A. et al. Genetic variants of the IL13 and IL4 genes and atopic diseases in at-risk children. Genes Immun 4, 385–389 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.gene.6363985

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