IL-10 Polymorphism Associated with Decreased Risk for Mortality After Burn Injury

ObjectiveEvaluation of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the interleukin‑10 promoter (‑592 and ‑819) on risk for death after burn injury.MethodsAssociation between the IL-10 SNPs and outcome after burn injury was evaluated in a cohort of 265 patients from Parkland Hospital, Dallas, TX with ≥15% TBSA burns without non-burn trauma (ISS ≤ 16), traumatic or anoxic brain injury or spinal cord injury, who survived >48 h under an IRB-approved protocol. Clinical data were collected prospectively and genotyping was conducted by TaqMan assay. Whole blood from 31 healthy volunteers was stimulated with LPS (100 ng/mL) to determine the level of IL-10 expression for each allele by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).ResultsAfter adjustment for percent total body surface area (TBSA) burned, inhalation injury, age, gender, and race/ethnicity, carriage of ‑592A and/or ‑819T was significantly associated (P = 0.014) with a decreased risk for death (adjusted odds ratio: 0.404; 95% CI: 0.197–0.829). As the candidate SNPs were in complete linkage disequilibrium, it was not possible to distinguish which allele was associated with decreased mortality risk. Age, inhalation injury, and full-thickness burn size were significantly associated with increased risk for death. In the LPS stimulated blood of healthy controls, carriage of the -592A and/or -819T allele demonstrated a trend for decreased levels of IL-10 (P = 0.079).ConclusionCarriage of the ‑592A and/or ‑819T allele in the IL-10 promoter appears to reduce the risk for death after burn injury.