Role of interleukin 1β and interleukin 10 variants on ocular toxoplasmosis in Brazilian individuals

Warlen Miiller Rocha Araujo; Christiane Maria Ayo; Mariana Previato; Geraldo Magela de Faria Jr; Fábio Batista Frederico; Rubens Camargo Siqueira; Gildásio Castello de Almeida Jr; Vera Lúcia Pereira-Chioccola; Luiz Carlos de Mattos; Cinara Cássia Brandão

doi:10.3389/fopht.2023.1183167

Role of interleukin 1β and interleukin 10 variants on ocular toxoplasmosis in Brazilian individuals

Front Ophthalmol (Lausanne). 2023 Jun 29:3:1183167. doi: 10.3389/fopht.2023.1183167. eCollection 2023.

Affiliations

¹ FAMERP Toxoplasma Research Group, Department of Molecular Biology, Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto (FAMERP), São Paulo, Brazil.
² Ophthalmology Outpatient Clinic, Fundação Faculdade Regional de Medicina, Hospital de Base da Fundação Faculdade Regional de Medicina (HB-FUNFARME), São Paulo, Brazil.
³ Department of Parasitology, Instituto Adolfo Lutz-São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

Abstract

Introduction: Ocular toxoplasmosis (OT) is an intraocular inflammation caused by Toxoplasma gondii infection that affects the retina and choroid, giving rise to posterior uveitis. Genetic polymorphisms in cytokine genes may exert influence in the expression of these molecules and play a significant role in inflammatory responses and susceptibility to OT. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of polymorphisms rs16944 (-511 C > T) of the interleukin (IL) 1β gene and rs1800896 (-1082 G > A) of the IL10 gene on OT in Brazilian individuals with a serologic diagnosis of T. gondii and after conducting fundoscopic exams.

Methods: Participants with a positive serology were classified into two distinct groups according to the presence (G1; n = 110) or absence (G2; n = 104) of OT. The control group (G3) consisted of individuals without the infection (n = 108).

Results: It was observed that the C/C genotype of the IL1β gene polymorphism was a protective factor for OT (p = 0.02, OR = 0.28, 95% CI 0.08-0.78 for G1 vs. G2; p = 0.03; OR = 0.29, 95% CI 0.09-0.82 for G1 vs. G3), according to the recessive inheritance model.

Conclusions: The -511C.T polymorphisms of the IL1β gene seems to play an important role in the pathogenesis of OT in Brazilian individuals.

Keywords: IL1β and IL10; cytokines; genetic polymorphisms; interleukins; ocular toxoplasmosis.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by grants from the Brazilian Ministry of Education CAPES Scholarship (Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel, Brazil—financing code 001), given to WA and to CA; by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP #2013/25650-8 to LM, #2013/06580-9 to CA, #2015/17226-7 to GA, #2018/09448-8 and 2019/05581–8 to GM, and #2018/04709–8 to VLP-C); by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq 09/2022 to LM). The opinions, assumptions, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of FAPESP.