In summary, this study identified a significant association between SLE and two SNPs within the IL-18 gene promoter region (rs360719 and rs1946518</span>) in a European population, but not in populations of Asian origin.
The aim of this study was to determine whether the three functional interleukin-18 (IL-18) promoter -607 C/A (rs1946518), -137 G/C (rs187238), and -1297 C/T (rs360719) polymorphisms confer susceptibility to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in ethnically different populations.
For the relationship of IL-18 rs1946518 polymorphism with RA (additive model: OR=0.752, 95%CI=0.562-1.006; dominant model: OR=0.730, 95%CI =0.479-1.113; recessive model: OR=0.537, 95%CI=0.271-1.064) and SLE (additive model: OR=0.684, 95%CI=0.455-1.028; dominant model: OR=0.645, 95%CI=0.368-1.130; recessive model: OR=0.672, 95%CI =0.447-1.010), no significant association with RA and SLE risk can be found under all genetic models in Asian populations.