Genetic variation at the interleukin-18 locus is associated with wheat-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis in the Han Chinese population

Abstract Objective To investigate the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the interleukin (IL)-18 gene locus with wheat-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis (WDEIA) in the Han Chinese population. Method 130 patients with WDEIA and 600 healthy subjects were recruited for this study. Three tag SNPs (rs360729, rs360717 and rs1946518) were selected and genotyped, and total IgE and sIgE levels were measured using the ImmunoCAP system. Results After Bonferroni correction, the frequency of the G-allele in rs1946518 in the WDEIA group was significantly higher than that in control group (P = 0.0015). Genotypic distributions of rs1946518 significantly differed between WDEIA and control groups, and compared with the TT genotype, the homozygote GG genotype was associated with a higher risk of WDEIA (P = 0.0031). At position rs1946518, the log-transformed total IgE values were significantly higher in the group with the heterozygous GT genotype than in TT genotype group (P = 0.0024). Haplotype AGG formed by three SNPs alleles occurred significantly more frequently in WDEIA group than in control group (P = 0.003). Conclusion The minor allele G at position rs1946518 might serve as a marker for the risk of WDEIA.