Association of combined IL-13/IL-4R signaling pathway gene polymorphism with Stevens-Johnson syndrome accompanied by ocular surface complications.

PURPOSE: Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are acute-onset mucocutaneous diseases induced by infectious agents or inciting drugs. The authors previously reported an association between SJS/TEN and IL-4R gene polymorphism that is essential for IL-4 and IL-13 signaling. To examine IL-4 and IL-13 gene polymorphisms and the combination of these polymorphisms with IL-4R polymorphism, the authors performed polymorphism analysis.

METHODS: In 76 Japanese SJS/TEN patients with ocular surface complications and 160 healthy controls, the authors analyzed polymorphisms of the promoter -590C/T in the IL-4 gene and of the promoter -1111C/T and Arg110Gln in the IL-13 gene and assessed Gln551Arg in the IL-4R gene. Because Arg110Gln affects serum IL-13, plasma IL-13 levels were also examined.

RESULTS: In the SJS/TEN patients, the Arg110Gln SNP of IL-13 was significantly associated with the disease, and the frequency of Arg110 alleles was significantly higher than that in the controls. Plasma IL-13 tended to be lower in SJS/TEN patients than in the controls. Analysis of the genotype pattern of IL-4R SNP Gln551Arg and IL-13 SNP Arg110Gln showed that the Gln551Gln(A/A)-Arg110Arg(G/G) genotype pattern was also associated with SJS/TEN.

CONCLUSIONS: IL-13 gene polymorphisms might be associated with SJS/TEN with ocular surface complications. The present findings suggest that SJS/TEN is different from allergic diseases such as atopy and asthma because the ratio of each allele in the IL-13 SNP Arg110Gln was the opposite of the ratio in those diseases. They also reveal that combined polymorphisms in the IL-13/IL-4R signaling pathway were associated with SJS/TEN with ocular surface complications.