Association between Interleukin-8 -251T/A Polymorphism and Endometriosis in Iranian Women

Background: Endometriosis is a disease of female genital system, which is defined by the presence of ectopic endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity. IL-8 is an autocrine growth factor in the endometrium that contributes to the pathogenesis of endometriosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between -251T/A polymorphism in the IL-8 gene and risk of developing endometriosis in Iranian population. Materials and Methods: This case-control study was performed in 100 endometriosis patients and 100 healthy individuals. The IL-8 -251T/A genotypes were determined using PCR-RFLP method. The association between genotypes of the -251T/A polymorphism and the risk of developing endometriosis was examined by odds ratios (OR) and 95% of confidence intervals (CIs). Results: No statistically significant associations were observed between IL-8 -251 variants and the risk of developing endometriosis (χ2: 1.02, P: 0.63). In addition, subgroup analysis (according to severity of disease) were unable to identify any association between IL-8 -251T/A polymorphism and endometriosis (P 0.05). Conclusions: To our knowledge this is the first study investigating the association between -251T/A polymorphism and risk of developing endometriosis. Our results indicate that the presence of the -251T/A polymorphism in IL-8 gene is not associated with the risk of endometriosis.