Background:

It has been recently found that inflammatory processes are directly related to the development of atherosclerotic plaque, causing ischemic heart disease. For this reason, every molecule related to these processes is critically important. Interleukins (IL) are proinflammatory cytokines, and their polymorphisms seem to increase the inflammatory progress. IL-1 and IL-6 polymorphisms are the ones most significantly associated with ischemic heart disease.

Objectives:

The aim of this study was to establish the relationship of IL-6 G-174C and G-572 C and IL-1 C-511T and C+3953T polymorphisms with ischemic heart disease.

Methods:

A retrospective study of 76 cases and 76 controls was carried out in patients attending the hemodynamics service of Carlos Andrade Marín Hospital (HCAM) of Quito, Ecuador. Genotyping was done on the basis of polymerase chain reaction with restriction enzymes (PCR-RFLP).

Results:

Among the four polymorphisms studied, only IL-6 -174 GG was significantly associated with ischemic heart disease. The logistic regression analysis used to determine the most important predictors of ischemic heart disease showed that the IL-6 -174 GG genotype was associated with an increased risk of independently presenting ischemic heart disease (OR 4.065, p ≤ 0.001).

Conclusions:

The GG genotype of IL-6 G-174C polymorphism confers a fourfold higher risk of developing ischemic heart disease, while the remaining three polymorphisms do not pose risks in this human population.