Objective
The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of interleukin (IL)-10-1082 polymorphisms on susceptibility to type I diabetes in children with latent toxoplasmosis.
Materials and methods
IL-10 (−1082) polymorphisms were assessed by PCR in a small sample size of 75 patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) type I. Moreover, serum levels of C peptide and toxoplasma were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Glycosylated hemoglobin in blood was determined by colorimetry.
Results
Distribution of AA was higher in the case group (38.7%) compared with (18.7%) in the control group, whereas GG and AG were higher in the control group (45.3 and 36.0%, respectively) compared with (32.0 and 29.3%, respectively) in the case group. Regarding toxoplasma, it was more frequent in the case group (49.3%) compared with (30.7%) in the control group. The main risk factors of DM type I were high HbA1c [odds ratio (OR)= 10.7], positive toxoplasma finding (OR=4.7), high blood glucose (OR= 1.04), GG IL-10 polymorphism (OR=0.31), and low level of C peptide (OR=0.7). On the contrary, C peptide level and blood glucose were statistically significantly higher in positive toxoplasma cases (<0.05). GG distribution was statistically significantly higher (<0.001) in positive toxoplasma cases (48.6%) compared with (15.8%) in negative toxoplasma cases. The most significant predictors for G allele were positive toxoplasma result (OR=3.5) and high HbA1c level (OR=1.22).
Conclusion
GG genotype can no longer be viewed as a protective allele for DM type I, as higher IL-10 production with the ubiquitous nature of toxoplasma infection can lead to more pancreatic necrosis. The use of IL-10 as therapeutic cytokine for treatment of DM type I should be revised.