Polymorphisms in the interleukin-22 receptor alpha-1 gene are associated with severe chronic rhinosinusitis.

RATIONALE: Stimulation of interleukin-22 receptor alpha-1 (IL22RA1) was reported to increase the innate immune responses in inflammatory diseases. Moreover, a reduced level of IL22RA1 was found in patients with recalcitrant CRS with nasal polyps.

OBJECTIVE

To explore association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IL22RA1 and severe CRS.

METHODS

We extracted DNA from 206 cases with severe CRS and 196 postal code-matched controls. Twenty-three SNPs in the IL22RA1 gene were selected from the pooling-based genome-wide association study and from the CEU HapMap dataset and genotyped. PLINK software was used to determine association.

RESULTS

After Bonferroni correction, three SNPs (rs4292900 P(nom) = 0.0006, OR = 1.757; rs4648936 P(nom) = 0.0011, OR = 1.716; rs16829225 P(nom) = 0.0014, OR = 1.977) show significant differences in allelic frequencies between cases and controls.

CONCLUSION

Polymorphisms in IL22RA1 are associated with severe CRS. Replication and functional studies are involved to better understand the mechanism by which these polymorphisms contribute to the pathogenesis of CRS.