Association Between IL12A rs568408, IL12B rs3212227 and IL-12 Receptor rs383483 Polymorphisms and Risk of Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Interleukine-12 (IL-12) induced interferon-γ (IFN- γ) production and development of T cells into Th1 cells, which has a critical role in immunity to intracellular pathogens. The current study aimed to evaluate the possible association between IL12A rs568408, IL12B rs3212227 as well as IL-12 receptor (IL-12R) rs383483 polymorphisms and pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). This case-control study was conducted on 174 confirmed PTB patients and 177 healthy subjects in a sample of southeast Iranian population. Genotyping was performed by the tetra amplification refractory mutation system- polymerase chain reaction (T-ARMS-PCR) method. The frequencies of GG, GA and AA genotypes of IL12A rs568408 variant in cases and controls were 58.9%, 38.5%, 1.7% and 61.6%, 37.3%, 1.1%, respectively. Regarding rs3212227 variant, the frequencies of AA, AC and CC genotypes in cases and controls were 47.1%, 54.4%, 7.5% and 50.8%, 43.5%, 5.7%, respectively. Concerning IL12R rs383483 polymorphism, the frequencies of AA, AG and GG in cases and controls were 39.1%, 31.4%, 29.5% and 40.2%, 25.3%, 34.5%, respectively. There was no significant difference in allele and genotype frequency of IL12A rs568408, IL12B rs3212227 and IL-12R rs383483 polymorphisms between patients with PTB and control groups (P > 0.05). The findings of the current study show that neither IL12A rs568408 and IL12B rs3212227 nor IL-12R rs383483 polymorphisms are associated with the risk of PTB in our population. Further studies with larger sample sizes and various ethnicities are needed to certify our findings.