International Journal of Research and Review Vol.7; Issue: 9; September 2020 Website: www.ijrrjournal.com Original Research Article E-ISSN: 2349-9788; P-ISSN: 2454-2237 International Journal of Research and Review (ijrrjournal.com) 104 Vol.7; Issue: 9; September 2020 Single Nucleotide Polymorphism in the Promoter Region of Interleukin-4 and Risk of Asthma: TT Homozygotes May Have High Propensity of Developing Chronic Airway Remodeling Arshiya Afreen 1 , S. Farhana F.A. 1 , Sumaya Fatima 1 , T.K.M. Rayees 1 , Nida Makeen 1 , Nusrath Fatima 4 , Ashfaq Hasan 2a , Aleemuddin Naveed 3 , Fahad Abdullah 2b , Mohd. Mohiuddin 5 , Mohd. Ishaq 6 1 Pharm-D (Doctor of Pharmacy), Department of Pharmacy Practice, Deccan School of Pharmacy, Hyderabad, 2a Professor and Head, Department of Pulmonology, Owaisi Hospital and Research Centre (OHRC), Deccan college of Medical Sciences (DCMS), Hyderabad, India, 2b Assistant Professor, Department of Pulmonology, OHRC, DCMS, Hyderabad, India, 3 Associate Professor, Department of Pulmonology, Princess Esra Hospital (PEH), DCMS, Hyderabad, India, 4 Department of Genetics, Osmania University, Hyderabad, India, 5 Department of Pharmacology, Deccan School of Pharmacy, Hyderabad, India, 6 Professor & Head, Salar-E-Millat Research Centre for Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Princess Esra Hospital, DCMS, Hyderabad, India. Corresponding Author: Arshiya Afreen ABSTRACT Background: In view of a key role played by Interleukin-4 (IL-4) in the molecular mechanisms leading to the development of asthma and its complications like chronic airway remodeling, a few reports have attempted to investigate a possible role of SNP’s in the promoter region to predict genetic risk. As it is associated with quantitative variations in IL-4 gene expression and may serve as an important candidate gene for asthma risk prediction. Objective: To investigate the polymorphic variations, at -590 (C/T) in the promoter region of IL-4 gene. Methods: 50 consecutively selected cases of asthma (36 females and 14 males) were recruited and genotyping for SNP at -590 C/T was done by PCR-RFLP method on the genomic DNA extracted from blood samples. Blood samples from 50 randomly selected healthy subjects served as controls. Mean values of Absolute Eosinophil Count and total serum IgE between the genotypes were compared by student’s unpaired t test. Odds-ratio analysis was carried out to determine risk of developing asthma. Results: Odds ratio (OR) analysis revealed two- and-a-half folds increased risk of asthma for individuals with TT genotype compared to those with CC genotype. A decreased frequency of CC genotype in patients (28%) compared to controls (58%) is indicative of protective nature of CC genotype. AEC counts and total serum IgE levels were significantly higher in TT compared to CC and CT genotypes. Conclusion: It is concluded that individuals with TT and CT genotypes (overproducers of IL-4) have high risk of developing asthma and high vulnerability to develop chronic airway remodeling. Key Words: Asthma, IL-4 gene, SNP at -590 C/T, Serum IgE, Eosinophil counts. INTRODUCTION Atopy refers to the genetic tendency to develop allergic diseases such as allergic rhinitis, asthma and atopic dermatitis. It is generally associated with raised immune responses predominantly of IgE type to common allergens, especially inhaled and food allergens. [1, 2]