Effect of Interleukin-10 Pathway Genes and Diet on Behcet's Disease

Abstract

Behcet's disease (BD) is an inflammatory disease characterized by recurrent oral and genital aphthae with unknown etiology. The disease is most prevalent along the Silk Road populations. BD is complex disease influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Identification of contribution of these factors to BD is an active research question. The first aim of the thesis is to determine the biological pathways in the etiopathology of BD by a comprehensive literature review of published genetic research. The second aim of the thesis is to investigate the genetic changes and gene expression in IL-10, an anti-inflammatory pathway cytokine, and its primary receptor. IL-10R1 in BD. The third aim of the thesis is to discover potential novel functional foods that can benefit patients with BD. 241 variants from 119 genes were identified to be associated with BD. Frequency distribution of the 241 variants among world populations was rather different. IL-10 was idendified to be most significantly associated with BD and differentiated high BD risk populations from the rest based on principal component analyses. Sequence analyses of IL-10 and IL-10R1 identified rs3024498 and rs9610 variants, respectively, in Turkish BD patients. Rs3024498 wa not associated with BD risk; however, IL-10R1 rs 9610 variant showed a marginally significant relationship with BD. IL-10 gene expression was 9.6 fold higher in BD compared to normal controls. As an anti-inflammatory IL-10 pathway is identified to influence BD, novel food supplements with high anti-inflammatory ingredients need to be developed to benefit patients with BD.