Interferon-γ and interleukin-12 production in relation to gene polymorphisms in BCG osteitis.

Interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and interleukin-12 (IL-12) play a crucial role in defense against mycobacteria including responses to Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccinations. We have previously reported clinical and outcome data of 222 BCG osteitis cases diagnosed in 1960-1988 in Finland. The immunological and genetic reports have been based on 132 blood samples obtained in 2007-2008.We compared IFNγ rs2430561 and rs35314021, IL12A rs568408 and rs2243115, and IL12B rs3212227 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) between 132 BCG osteitis patients and 99 population-based controls. In addition, stimulated productions of IFN-γ and IL-12 in cell cultures were evaluated in relation to the presence of IFNγ and IL12 wild versus variant genotypes, respectively.The distributions of IFNγ rs2430561, IFNγ rs35314021, IL12A rs568408, IL12A rs2243115 and IL12B rs3212227 SNPs did not differ between BCG osteitis patients and Finnish population-based controls. For the IFNγ rs2430561, IFNγ rs35314021 and IL12A rs2243115, the negative result was confirmed by comparing the minor allele frequencies (MAFs) in BCG osteitis cases with those in the publicly available genome aggregation database including data of 3472 Finnish persons. Instead, for the IL12A rs568408 and IL12B rs3212227, the comparisons of MAFs in BCG osteitis cases with those in population-based and in aggregation-based controls gave conflicting results. The presence of the wild versus variant genotype had no significant association with IL-12 or IFN-γ production in BCG-stimulated cell cultures.IFNγ gene polymorphisms did not show any association with BCG osteitis after newborn vaccination. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.