Abstract
Two polymorphisms in the IL4 (G/C 3′-UTR) and IL5 (C-703T) genes were studied in a sample of families whose probands had atopic bronchial asthma (BA) (66 families,
n = 183) and in a group of non-cognate individuals with the severe form of the disease
(n = 34). The samples were collected from the Russian population in the city of Tomsk
(Russia). Using the transmission/disequilibrium test (TDT), a significant association
of allele C-703 IL5 with BA was established (TDT = 4.923, p = 0.007 ± 0.0007). The
analysis of 40 individuals with mild asthma and 49 patients with the severe form
of the disease revealed a negative association of genotype GG IL4 (OR = 0.39, 95%
CI = 0.15−0.99, p = 0.035), and also a trend towards a positive association of the
GC IL4 genotype (OR = 2.52, 95% CI = 0.98−6.57, p = 0.052) with mild BA. There
was a concordance of the clinical classification of BA severity with the ‘genotype’
(McNemar's