AUTHOR=Li Xing , Zhu Jiajia , Peng Yu , Guan Hongbing , Chen Jinyu , Wang Zhanhang , Zheng Dong , Cheng Nan , Wang Honghao 

TITLE=Association of Polymorphisms in Inflammatory Cytokines Encoding Genes With Anti-N-methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor Encephalitis in the Southern Han Chinese

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2020.553355

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2020.553355

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that occur within genes encoding inflammatory cytokines can result in quantitative or qualitative changes in their expression or functionality, potentially leading to the development of anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis. This study sought to evaluate the relationship between SNPs in inflammatory cytokines genes and the incidence of anti-NMDAR encephalitis in the Southern Han Chinese.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> In total, we enrolled 107 patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis as well as 202 inpatient controls who had no first-degree relative with autoimmune diseases. Genotyping determination of all 309 patients was conducted for the IL-1β rs16944, IL-4 rs2243250, IL-4 rs2070874, IL-6 rs1800796, IL-10 rs1800872, and IL-17 rs2275913 gene SNPs.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> We observed statistically significant differences in the frequencies of G allele in IL-1β rs16944 between anti-NMDAR encephalitis and controls (<italic>p</italic> = 0.017). Also, IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-17 SNPs were not associated with the disease (<italic>p</italic> &gt; 0.05).</p><p><bold>Conclusions:</bold> We found that patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis exhibit a distinct immunological profile, and we found that the decreased frequency of G allele in IL-1β rs16944 showed a protective role for anti-NMDAR encephalitis in the Southern Han Chinese.</p>