Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is an immunologically-mediated
lung disease caused by repeated inhalation of dispersed
antigen. Various
cytokines have been reported to be involved in the immunopathogenesis of HP Recently, some reports suggested an association between the genetic control of
cytokine production and
disease susceptibility. To evaluate whether
cytokine gene polymorphisms are associated with HP, we performed a case-control association study involving 61 patients with HP, consisting of summer-type HP (SHP) and
bird fancier's lung (
BFL, also named bird fancier's disease), as well
as 101 healthy controls. Polymorphisms of the genes for
tumor necrosis factor (
TNF)-alpha (-308G/A, -857C/T, -863C/A, -1031T/C),
interleukin (IL)-10 (-592C/A, -819C/T, -1082G/A),
transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 (-509C/T, +869T/C), and
IL-6 (-634C/G) were examined by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. There were no significant differences in allele frequency and genotype distribution among control, SHP, and
BFL group. When HP group was divided into acute or chronic, no significant differences were detected between any groups. LPS-stimulated
IL-6 secretion by whole blood cells was similar between subjects with GG genotype and non-GG genotype in
IL-6 -634C/G polymorphism. In conclusion, the association between HP susceptibility and
cytokine polymorphisms studied was not demonstrated.