Objective: To investigate whether interleukin-10 (IL-10) -627 gene promoter polymorphism could be used as a marker of susceptibility to endometriosis.
Study design: Women were divided into 2 groups, endometriosis (n = 130) and nonendometriosis (n = 133). Polymorphisms for IL-10 -627 gene promoter were amplified by polymerase chain reaction and detected after restriction enzyme digestion. Genotypes and allelic frequencies in both groups were compared.
Results: Genotype proportions of different IL-10 gene polymorphisms in both groups were not significantly different. Proportions of A homozygote/heterozygote/T homozygote for IL-10 gene polymorphisms in both groups were 50%/40%/10% and 42.1%/38.4%/19.5%. In contrast, allele frequencies for IL-10 gene polymorphism between both groups were significantly different. Alleles A and C for IL-10 gene promoter polymorphism in the groups were 70%/30% and 61.3%/38.7%. A allele was associated with higher susceptibility to endometriosis.
Conclusion: An association between endometriosis and IL-10 gene promoter polymorphism exists, and the IL-10 -627 A allele is related to a higher susceptibility to endometriosis.