Association between the Polymorphism of TGF-β1 Gene Promoter (-509C>T) and Idiopathic Chronic Urticaria

Idiopathic Chronic Urticaria (ICU), the most common form (70-80%) of chronic urticaria is supposed to have immune basis causes. It is speculated that the promoter polymorphism of TGF-β1 gene may be involved in ICU. This condition is thought to affect at least 0.1% of the population and often can be severe and difficult to treat.A total of 40 patients with ICU and 41 normal subjects were studied. DNA was extracted from whole blood and TGF-β1 promoter –509C>T polymorphism was determined by PCR-RFLP method.Out of the 40 patients with ICU, 11 (27.5%) had CC, 26 (65%) had CT and 3 (7.5%) had TT genotypes. A higher proportion of case subjects with the C allele (CT type or CC type) was found compared with the T allele.These results do suggest an influence of genetic variability at the promoter of TGF-β1 gene (-509C>T) on the occurrence of ICU. This polymorphism has been shown as a useful genetic change in our study. Further work is required to confirm this result.