IL-17F but not IL-17A gene polymorphism confers risk to multiple sclerosis in a Chinese Han population.

Interleukin-17 has been shown to be associated with autoimmune disease. The aim of the current study is to investigate the potential association of IL-17 polymorphisms with multiple sclerosis (MS) in Chinese Han patients. Two SNPs, rs763780 of IL-17F gene and rs2275913 of IL-17A gene were genotyped in 622 MS patients and 743 healthy controls by using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method (PCR-RFLP). Allele and genotype frequencies distribution of the two SNPs were examined between patients and controls using the Chi-Square test. All genotypic and allelic frequencies of the tested IL-17 polymorphisms in control cohort were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. A significantly increased frequency of rs763780 TT genotype (corrected p value (Pc)=0.024, odds ratio=1.472, 95% CI=1.133-1.913) and T allele (corrected P (Pc)=0.018, odds ratio=1.446, 95% CI=1.134-1.844) was detected in MS patients compared with controls. The genotypic and allelic frequencies of rs2275913 in IL-17A gene were not different between patients with MS and controls. These results suggest that rs763780 is associated with multiple sclerosis in a Chinese Han population.