Study of <i>Interleukin 1β</i> Gene Polymorphisms in Tunisian Paediatric Population With Cystic Echinococcosis

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a highly common zoonosis worldwide and Tunisia remains the most endemic country in North Africa. The variability of clinical manifestations of CE depends on predisposing factors related to the interaction between host genetic and immunological factors. This study investigates the association between single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of IL-1β (rs16944 and rs1143634), an important pro-inflammatory cytokine in the CE immune response and susceptibility to CE in a Tunisian population. The case group included 152 paediatric patients diagnosed with CE, whereas the control group included 152 healthy individuals. The DNA was extracted via the salting-out method and genotyped via polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). The -511C/T genotype is more frequent in the control group than in patients (OR = 0,57, p = 0.03, CI = 0.3418-0.96). The haplotype -511C/+3954T was higher in the case group compared to the control group (OR = 2.6, p = 0.00011, CI = 1.62-4.31). The SNP -511C/T in IL-1β gene was associated with CE protection in our paediatric population. The haplotype -511C/+3954T might be considered as the influential factor for resistance to the disease.