Interleukin 4 (IL-4) gene promoter polymorphisms in Rhombomys opimus, the main reservoir of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis

• Published in: Cytokine (Philadelphia, Pa.) Pa.), 2014-01, Vol.65 (1), p.1-3
• Main Authors: Bakhshi, H., Borhani, N., Mohebali, M., Khamesipour, A., Abai, M.R., Hajjaran, H., Tajedin, L., Rassi, Y., Akhavan, A.A., Mohtarami, F., Oshaghi, M.A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Asymptomatic Diseases; Base Sequence; Female; Gerbillinae - genetics; Interleukin 4 (IL-4) gene; Interleukin-4 - genetics; Leishmania major; Leishmania major - immunology; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - genetics; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - immunology; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous - veterinary; Male; Polymorphism; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Rhombomys opimus; Sequence Alignment; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Zoonoses - immunology; Zoonoses - parasitology; Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL)
• ISSN: 1043-4666; 1096-0023
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cyto.2013.10.001

[Display omitted] •Great gerbils are the main reservoir of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) due to Leishmania major.•We designed specific primers to amplify IL-4 promoter gene of great gerbil populations.•We determined five SNPs assembly six haplotypes among the gerbil populations.•The SNPs may relate to the outcome phenotypes following infection with L. major in the great gerbils.•These data may lead to develop novel control strategy against ZCL. Great gerbils (Rhombomys opimus) are the most common gerbils in center to northeast of Iran as well as central Asia and serve as reservoirs for the zoonotic agents, including Leishmania major, the principal etiologic agent of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL). The outcome of L. major infection in gerbils is not uniform. Among several immune-related factors including cytokine genes, the polymorphism in interleukin 4 (IL-4) promoter gene showed a great impact on outcome and pathological symptoms of L. major infection at least in mouse model. In this study gerbils’ IL-4 promoter gene polymorphism is assessed. Specific primers were designed to develop a PCR-based assay to amplify IL-4 promoter gene to possibly define IL-4 promoter gene polymorphism in great gerbil populations with a range of Leishmania infection and symptoms collected from different foci of the central, north and northeast regions of Iran. The results showed that the designed primers amplify 689bp of the promoter gene. Sequence analysis of the promoter gene revealed five polymorphic sites assembly six haplotypes among the gerbil populations. Further studies are needed to assess whether or not the five polymorphisms cause different outcome phenotypes following infection with L. major in great gerbils. The data might be used to characterize the immune responses of R. opimus against L. major infection.