Variants of the Interleukin-10 Promoter Gene Are Associated With Obesity and Insulin Resistance but Not Type 2 Diabetes in Caucasian Italian Subjects

Abstract

Interleukin (IL)-10 is a major anti-inflammatory cytokine that has been associated with obesity and type 2 diabetes. The three polymorphisms −1082G/A, −819C/T, and −592C/A in the IL10 promoter were reported to influence IL10 transcription. We investigated whether these polymorphisms were associated with type 2 diabetes and related traits in a cohort of Italian Caucasians comprising 551 type 2 diabetic and 1,131 control subjects. The −819C/T and −592C/A polymorphisms were in perfect linkage disequilibrium (r2 = 1.0). The −1082G/A polymorphism was not associated with type 2 diabetes or related traits. Although the −592C/A polymorphism was not associated with type 2 diabetes, nondiabetic homozygous carriers of the A allele showed increased BMI and insulin resistance and lower plasma IL-10 levels compared with the other genotypes. In the nondiabetic group, the ATA haplotype was associated with an increased risk for obesity (odds ratio 1.28 [95% CI 1.02–1.60]; P = 0.02). The ATA/ATA composite genotype was associated with an increased risk for obesity (1.96 [1.16–3.31]; P = 0.01) and insulin resistance (1.99 [1.12–3.53]; P = 0.01). This study suggests that polymorphisms and haplotypes of the IL10 promoter may be associated with obesity and insulin resistance in a large sample of Italian Caucasians.