Interleukin-1 and the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist gene polymorphisms study in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC. 2013;61:264-268. [PMID: 23849770 DOI: 10.1016/j.patbio.2013.05.005]

Ultra-Low Dose Cytokines in Rheumatoid Arthritis, Three Birds with One Stone as the Rationale of the 2LARTH® Micro-Immunotherapy Treatment

Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) are two cytokines involved in the perpetuation of the chronic inflammation state characterizing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Significant advances in the treatment of this pathology have been made over the past ten years, partially through the development of anti-TNF and anti-IL-1 therapies. However, major side effects still persist and new alternative therapies should be considered. The formulation of the micro-immunotherapy medicine (MIM) 2LARTH^® uses ultra-low doses (ULD) of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-2, in association with other immune factors, to gently restore the body’s homeostasis. The first part of this review aims at delineating the pivotal roles played by IL-1β and TNF-α in RA physiopathology, leading to the development of anti-TNF and anti-IL-1 therapeutic agents. In a second part, an emphasis will be made on explaining the rationale of using multiple therapeutic targets, including both IL-1β and TNF-α in 2LARTH^® medicine. Particular attention will be paid to the ULD of those two main pro-inflammatory factors in order to counteract their overexpression through the lens of their molecular implication in RA pathogenesis.

Associations between Polymorphisms in the IL-1 Gene and the Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Evidence from a Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND

Previous studies on polymorphisms in interleukin-1 (IL-1) and the risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)/systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) yielded inconsistent results.

OBJECTIVES

The authors performed this meta-analysis to more robustly evaluate associations between polymorphisms in the IL-1 gene and the risk of RA/SLE.

METHODS

MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, Wanfang, VIP, and CNKI were systematically searched for eligible studies, and 34 relevant studies were finally selected to be eligible for inclusion.

RESULTS

We found that IL-1A +4845G/T polymorphism was significantly associated with the risk of RA in the overall population (dominant comparison: p = 0.02; overdominant comparison: p = 0.05; allele comparison: p = 0.04), whereas IL-1B +3954C/T polymorphism was significantly associated with the risk of RA in the overall population (overdominant comparison: p = 0.03; allele comparison: p = 0.01) and Asians (recessive comparison: p = 0.007; allele comparison: p = 0.002). In addition, we found that IL-1A -889C/T polymorphism was significantly associated with the risk of SLE in Caucasians (allele comparison: p = 0.04), IL-1B -31T/C polymorphism was significantly associated with the risk of SLE in the overall population (recessive comparison: p = 0.04), and IL-1B -511C/T polymorphism was significantly associated with the risk of SLE in Asians (recessive comparison: p = 0.01; allele comparison: p = 0.03).

CONCLUSIONS

This meta-analysis suggests that IL-1A +4845G/T and IL-1B +3954C/T polymorphisms may influence the risk of RA, whereas IL-1A -889C/T, IL-1B -31T/C, and IL-1B -511C/T polymorphisms may influence the risk of SLE.

Pro-inflammatory cytokine response pre-dominates immuno-genetic pathway in development of rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a crucial inflammatory joint disease characterized by loss of self-tolerance and severe cartilage loss, autoimmune, and subchondral bone erosions. Cytokines are the key regulators of inflammatory responses. Homeostatic imbalances in pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine activities can result in pathogenic inflammatory reactions. These imbalances could be initiated by environmental factors but the ability to define the threshold of environmental impact relies on the genetic background of the pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. To address this a case-control association study was carried out in 429 individuals from Malayalam speaking ethnic population from South India. Functionally relevant SNPs from IL-10, IL-6, IL-1β and IL-1RN were genotyped using PCR -RFLP and sequencing. Meta-analysis was performed for the associated variants of IL-10, IL-1β. Significant association with RA was observed with IL-1β rs1143634, rs1143627, IL-10 rs1800896, IL-6 rs1800796, rs1800797. The associated SNPs are likely to impact transcriptional activity of a gene. Meta-analysis with global populations also provide evidence that IL-10 and IL-1β could be a global marker for RA. The functional significance of associated risk variants of IL-1β and IL-6 indicate increased production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines while IL-10 risk allele suggest reduced production of anti- inflammatory cytokines. The study concludes that increased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and reduced production of anti- inflammatory cytokines may influence the Th1/Th2 equilibrium resulting in a triggering of Th1 mediated inflammatory responses in development of RA.

Association of interleukin-1 family gene polymorphisms with juvenile idiopathic arthritis in Iranian population

BACKGROUND

Cytokines, including interleukin-1 (IL-1), seem to contribute towards the pathogenesis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), so this study was designed to evaluate the associations of IL-1 gene cluster and IL-1 receptor (IL-1R) gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with JIA proneness in Iranian population.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Genomic DNA of 55 Iranian patients with JIA and 140 controls were extracted and typed for IL-1α gene at position -889, IL-1β gene at positions -511 and +3962, IL-1R gene at position Pst-I 1970, and interleikin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) gene at position Mspa-I 11100, using polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers method, and compared between patients and controls.

RESULTS

The CC genotype of IL-1Ra at Mspa-I 11100 position was found to be more frequent in patients with JIA compared to healthy individuals (P=0.03), although the CT genotype at the same position was significantly higher in the control group in comparison with patients with JIA (P=0.02). No significant differences were observed between the two groups of case and control for IL-1α (-889 C/T), IL-1β (-511 C/T and +3962 C/T) and IL-1R (Pst-1 1970 C/T).

CONCLUSION

The results of the present investigation suggest that certain IL-1Ra gene variants are associated with individuals' susceptibility to JIA. Nevertheless, further studies are required to establish the results of the current study.

Interleukins and interleukin receptors in rheumatoid arthritis: Research, diagnostics and clinical implications

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease, resulting in a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder. It may affect many tissues and organs, but it primarily affects the flexible joints. In clinical practice patient care generates many questions about diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. It is challenging for health care specialists to keep up to date with the medical literature. This review summarizes the pathogenesis, the polymorphisms of interleukin and interleukin genes and the standard available and possible future immunologic targets for RA treatment. The identification of disease-associated interleukin and interleukin receptor genes can provide precious insight into the genetic variations prior to disease onset in order to identify the pathways important for RA pathogenesis. The knowledge of the complex genetic background may prove useful for developing novel therapies and making personalized medicine based on the individual’s genetics.