IL37 polymorphisms in dilated cardiomyopathy: susceptibility, haplotype associations, and biochemical correlates

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a heterogeneous myocardial disorder involving genetic and immune-inflammatory mechanisms. The contribution of IL37 genetic variation to DCM remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate associations of IL37 rs3811045, rs3811048, and rs528949769 polymorphisms and their haplotypes with DCM susceptibility and biochemical phenotypes. This case-control study included 60 patients with DCM and 30 healthy controls. The polymorphisms were genotyped by conventional PCR followed by Sanger sequencing. Genetic associations. genotype–phenotype relationships, and haplotypes were analyzed. rs3811045 and rs528949769 showed no significant independent association with DCM.The rs3811048 recessive-model association was nominal (OR = 2.750, 95% CI = 1.059–7.142; p = 0.035), but was not significant after FDR correction (q = 0.210) or adjustment for age and sex (aOR = 2.580, 95% CI = 0.968–6.880; p = 0.058). Serum creatinine differed nominally across rs3811045 (p = 0.017) and rs3811048 (p = 0.002) genotypes, with within-analysis Bonferroni-adjusted pairwise differences; neither association remained significant after FDR correction across 24 biochemical tests. Overall haplotype distribution differed between patients and controls (global p = 0.008), although individual haplotypes were nonsignificant after multiple-testing correction. No single-variant susceptibility or genotype–biochemical association remained significant after FDR correction. The exploratory global haplotype association warrants further investigation and validation in larger independent cohorts. No single-variant susceptibility or genotype–biochemical association remained significant after FDR correction. The exploratory global haplotype association warrants further investigation and validation in larger independent cohorts.