Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine (Dec 2020)

Association of IL-17 and IL-23 Gene Variants with Plasma Levels and Risk of Vulvovaginal Candidiasis in a Chinese Han Population

  • Li W,
  • Shi W,
  • Yin Y,
  • Chen J,
  • Luo L

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 13
pp. 725 – 733

Abstract

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Wei Li,1 Wenyin Shi,1 Yujun Yin,2 Juan Chen,1 Lanlan Luo3 1Department of Gynecology, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Dantu District People’s Hospital, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Taizhou People’s Hospital, Taizhou, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Lanlan Luo Tel/Fax +86-523-86606267Email [email protected]: Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is a common vaginal inflammatory disease in females. The interleukin (IL)-23/IL-17 axis was involved in vaginal inflammation. Nevertheless, the relationship between gene polymorphisms in the IL-23/IL-17 axis and VVC risk is still unexplored.Methods: We enrolled 217 VCC cases and 326 controls in this study. The genotyping of all polymorphisms was implemented by PCR-RFLP methods.Results: Data indicated that IL-17F gene rs763780, IL-17A gene rs2275913, and IL-23R rs11209026 polymorphisms were linked with an elevated risk of VVC in Chinese ethnicity. Subgroup analyses uncovered that IL-23R rs11209026, IL-17A rs10484879 and IL-17F rs763780 polymorphisms increased the risk of VVC among smokers or individuals with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. Additionally, IL-17F rs763780 polymorphism was shown to increase the risk of recurrent VVC (RVVC). Furthermore, IL-23 and IL-17 serum levels were higher among VVC cases than controls. We also observed that IL-23 and IL-17 gene polymorphisms were related to their serum levels. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis found that IL-17 and IL-23 serum levels were associated with the relapse of VVC.Conclusion: In conclusion, this study indicates that polymorphisms in the IL-23/IL-17 axis increase the risk of VVC.Keywords: IL-17, IL-23, case–control study, vulvovaginal candidiasis, polymorphism

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