Objective: Systemic infection affects one quarter of preterm infants. Defense from infection is in part mediated by the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6). We tested the hypothesis that the IL-6 -174 GG genotype, associated with lower IL-6 response to inflammation, is also associated with the development of septicemia in preterm infants.
Methods: The study group comprised 157 infants who were born at < or =32 weeks. Genotype distribution (34% [54] GG, 46% [72] GC, 20% [31] CC) and C allele frequency (0.43; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.37-0.48) were similar to the UK adult population. Among the patients who developed bacterially confirmed septicemia (n = 51 [33%]), there was a significantly higher prevalence of the IL-6 -174 GG genotype than that observed in those who did not develop infection (47% vs 28% for GG: odds ratio [OR]: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.1-4.5). This association remained statistically significant (OR: 2.7; 95% CI: 1.2-6.3) after multiple binary logistic regression adjustment for other significant predictors of the development of septicemia. Late infection alone was similarly associated with GG genotype (septicemia 47% vs no septicemia 29% for GG: OR: 2.2; 95% CI: 1.1-4.3).
Conclusions: Variation in the IL-6 gene seems to influence the defense against bacterial pathogens in the very preterm infant.