The association of interleukin-13 gene polymorphism withkala-azar patients

Background& Objective: Host resistance towards Leishmania infection is mediated by cellular immune responses leading to macrophage activation and parasite killing. According to the important role of IL-13 in the defense against visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and the known effect of the IL-13 gene polymorphisms on its production, the aim of this study was to investigate the probable relationship between IL-13 gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to VL.Materials & Methods: The patient group included 52 patients who had suffered from VL infection and the control group consisted of 104 non-relative healthy people from the same endemic areas the patients were from (southern part of Fars Province). IL-13 (position -1512 A/C) gene polymorphism was determined by polymerase chain reaction-restricted fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP).Results: There was no significant association between the frequencies of IL-13 (-1512) alleles and genotypes in the patients with VL compared to the thenormal population.Conclusion: This study indicated that the IL-13 (position -1512 A/C) genotypes cannot be considered as a genetic susceptibility factor for leishmaniasis.