Screening the human serum proteome for genotype-phenotype associations:: An analysis of the IL6-174G>C polymorphism

Interleukin (IL)-6 is a circulatory, pleiotropic cytokine with multiple roles in the immune system. Both IL-6 and the IL6 -174G > C promoter polymorphism have been linked to various diseases associated with inflammation. However, the mechanism by which the polymorphism influences disease risk is unclear. We postulated that serum proteome analysis of individuals with different IL6 -174G > C genotypes would provide insight on genotype-phenotype associations of this polymorphism and its role in disease susceptibility. Serum from a random sample of control participants in an ongoing population-based case-control study of non-Hodgkin lymphoma was pooled by IL6 genotype and used to screen for the optimal SELDI-TOF MS arrays for analysis. We report differences in serum protein expression of individuals with specific genotypes based on pooled and individual sample analysis. In particular, we report an association of the -174C allele with increased apolipoprotein C-I (ApoC-1). Additionally, we corroborate previous findings of an association of the -174C allele with lower autoantibodies to heat shock protein 60 and confirm the absence of any association between the IL6 -174G > C genotype and serum IL-6 levels. This study illustrates that proteome analysis can enhance our understanding of genotype-phenotype relationships. Additional studies are needed to clarify the interaction between the IL6 -174G > C polymorphism and ApoC-I.