Published Online
on December 16, 2004

A more recent version of this article appeared on February 1, 2005

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Submitted on June 4, 2004
Revised on August 27, 2004
Accepted on October 15, 2004

Role of the Interleukin-6 -174 G>C Gene Polymorphism in Retinal Artery Occlusion

Martin Weger MD; Iris Steinbrugger MD; Anton Haas MD; Winfried März MD; Yosuf El-Shabrawi MD; Wolfgang Weger MD; Otto Schmut PhD; and Wilfried Renner PhD^*

From the Department of Ophthalmology (M.W., I.S., A.H., Y.E.-S., W.W., O.S.), and the Clinical Institute of Medical and Chemical Laboratory Diagnostics (W.M., W.R.), Medical University, Graz, Austria.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: wilfried.renner{at}meduni-graz.at.

Background and Purpose--Proinflammatory cytokines including interleukin-6 (IL-6) are supposed to play a pivotal role in the development of atherosclerosis. A common polymorphism in the promoter of the IL-6 gene (IL-6 -174G>C) affects plasma IL-6 concentrations and has been suggested as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The aim of the present case-control study was to investigate the role of this polymorphism for retinal artery occlusion (RAO).

Methods--One hundred eighty-two patients with RAO and 307 control subjects were genotyped for the IL-6 -174G>C polymorphism. Genotypes were determined by fluorogenic exonuclease (TaqMan) assay.

Results--The prevalence of the CC genotype was significantly lower in patients with RAO than in control subjects (10.4% versus 19.9%; P=0.006). Homozygosity for the C allele was associated with an odds ratio of 0.50 (95% CI, 0.28 to 0.89) for RAO.

Conclusions--The CC genotype of the IL-6 -174G>C polymorphism may be associated with a protective effect against RAO.

Key words: atherosclerosis • genetics • interleukin-6 • ophthalmology • retinal artery occlusion • risk factors

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