The association of eotaxin-2 and eotaxin-3 gene polymorphisms in a Korean population with ulcerative colitis.

The eotaxin gene family (eotaxin, eotaxin-2 and eotaxin-3) have been implicated in the recruitment of eosinophils, basophiles and helper T (Th) 2 lymphocytes that is a central aspect of allergic disease. We previously suggested that Eo2+179T>C and Eo2 +275C>T of the eotaxin-2, and Eo3 +2497T>G of the eotaxin-3 were significantly associated with susceptibility to asthma. To determine whether the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of eotaxin-2 and eotaxin-3 gene family are associated with the susceptibility of ulcerative colitis (UC), we analyzed the genotype of 119 patients with UC and 303 controls using single-base extension (SBE) method. We also calculated the haplotype frequencies among Eo2 +179T>C and Eo2 +275C >T of the eotaxin-2 and Eo3 +2497T>G of the eotaxin-3 in both control and UC patients. The genotype frequency of Eo2 +179T>C and Eo2 +275C>T between UC patients and controls were significantly different (P=0.006 and 0.022, respectively). The genotype and allele frequencies of EoA2497T>G in UC patients were not significantly different from those in the controls without UC patients. Our results suggest that Eo2 +179T>C and Eo2 +275C>T of eotaxin-2 might be associated with the susceptibility of UC.