IL-1 Polymorphism and Helicobacter pylori Infection Features: Highlighting VNTR's Potential in Predicting the Susceptibility to Infection-Associated Disease Development

Genetic polymorphisms at the IL-1 cluster are associated with increased Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)-associated disease risk in an ethnically dependent manner. Due to the corroborated role of IL-1 beta in H. pylori infection progression, our aim is to depict the impact of IL1B rs1143627 and rs16944 as well as the IL1RN variable number of identical tandem repeats (VNTR) on the clinical and biological features of Moroccan H. pylori-infected patients. A total of 58 patients with epigastralgic pain were referred to the gastroenterology department for histopathological and clinical analysis. DNA extraction from antrum and fundus biopsies and PCR-RFLP were performed to detect polymorphisms. As a result, VNTR was significantly associated with IL-1 beta antrum levels (p-value = 0.029), where the *1/*4 genotype showed a positive association with upregulated cytokine levels in the antrum and was clustered with H. pylori-infected patients' features and higher levels of IL-1 beta in the antrum and fundus. Likewise, *1/*1 genotype carriers clustered with severe gastritis activity and H. pylori density scores along with low levels of IL-1 beta in the antrum and fundus, while the *1/*2 genotype was clustered with non-infected-patient features and normal IL-1 beta levels. In conclusion, VNTR might be an interesting predictor to identify patients at risk of developing H. pylori-associated pathologies.

Automated summary

IL1B rs1143627, rs16944, and IL1RN VNTR are associated with clinical and biological features in Moroccan H. pylori-infected patients, with VNTR showing a significant correlation with IL-1 beta levels. These findings suggest that VNTR may serve as an interesting predictor for identifying patients at risk of developing H. pylori-associated pathologies.