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Role of IL-10 as a susceptibility factor for rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular disease
Arthritis Research & Therapy volume 7, Article number: P109 (2005)
IL-10 is both an immunoinhibitory (monocytes and T cells) and an immunostimulatory (B cells) cytokine that may confer susceptibility and modulate disease expression in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The capacity to produce IL-10 (as measured by production of IL-10 in a lipopolysaccharide-stimulated whole blood culture) differs about fourfold between individuals. By comparing variance between monozygotic and dizygotic twins it was estimated that 60% of these differences are caused by genetic factors.
To determine relevance for susceptibility to diseases, we determined production levels of IL-10 in lipopolysaccharide-induced whole blood cultures from 76 new incident, non-treated RA patients and 63 healthy controls. RA patients had a 50% lower IL-10 production than controls (P < 0.001). In a cohort of women (≥ 85 years) with high risk of cardiovascular death [1], we observed that low innate IL-10 production yielded a threefold increase in risk of dying, which, interestingly, correlates with the presence of the A allele of the IL-10 -2849 promoter polymorphism (P = 0.021).
To elucidate this genetic basis of IL-10 secretion and the functionality of IL-10 promoter polymorphisms, we used the technique of allele-specific transcript quantification to characterise the ratio between two alleles of the IL-10 gene in 15 healthy heterozygous individuals. We identified two groups whereby five healthy donors exhibited a 1:1 ratio whereas seven exhibited a ratio >1 (P < 0.0017) [2]. Donors heterozygous for haplotype IL-10.2 were only prevalent in the group with higher allelic expression ratios. The G allele of the IL-10 promoter single nucleotide polymorphism -2849 tags this haplotype, providing functional evidence that differential allelic transcription partly explains the constant associations found with IL-10 production levels.
In conclusion, this study provides evidence that IL-10 haplotypes dictating production of IL-10 are involved not only in conferring susceptibility to RA, but also in risk for cardiovascular death in old age.
References
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Van Den Biggelaar AH, De Craen AJ, Gussekloo J, Huizinga TW, Heijmans BT, Frolich M, Kirkwood TB, Westendorp RG: Inflammation underlying cardiovascular mortality is a late consequence of evolutionary programming. FASEB J. 2004, 18: 1022-1024.
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Kurreeman FA, Schonkeren JJ, Heijmans BT, Toes RE, Huizinga TW: Transcription of the IL10 gene reveals allele-specific regulation at the mRNA level. Hum Mol Genet. 2004, 13: 1755-1762. 10.1093/hmg/ddh187.
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Kurreeman, F., De Vries, J., Westendorp, R. et al. Role of IL-10 as a susceptibility factor for rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular disease. Arthritis Res Ther 7, P109 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1186/ar1630
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Keywords
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Rheumatoid Arthritis Patient
- Cardiovascular Death
- Promoter Polymorphism
- Dizygotic Twin