Interleukin (IL)-18, an important mediator of innate and adaptive immunity, plays multiple roles in chronic inflammation, in autoimmune diseases, in a variety of cancers and in number of infectious diseases. IL-18 promoter polymorphisms have been also noted associated with various inflammatory diseases. We investigated the association of IL-18 promoter polymorphisms (À656T/G, À607A/C and À137C/G) with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in Taiwan Chinese patients and controls. Six haplotypes (hts) were identified from the three promoter polymorphisms. The genotype distribution of the ht1 (GCC), ht2 (TAC), ht4 (GAC) and ht5 (TCC) were different in patients and controls (Po0.002). Moreover, the haplotype and genotype frequencies of ht1 were significantly increased in patients with discoid rash (P ¼ 0.045, odds ratio (OR): 2.01, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01-4.00; P ¼ 0.027, OR: 5.13, 95% CI: 1.41-18.68). In addition, the homozygous genotype ht1/ht1 was significant increased in patients with serositis (P ¼ 0.015, OR: 9.78, 95% CI: 1.55-61.73). These observations suggest that the three promoter polymorphisms contribute to the genetic background of SLE pathogenesis.

Elevated serum levels of interleukin-10 (IL-10) have been reported in patients with Kawasaki disease (KD). IL-10 reduces the inflammatory actions of macrophages and T cells and it may play a significant role in the regulation of inflammatory vascular damage associated with systemic vasculitis. The aim of this study was to examine whether -592 IL-10 promoter polymorphism is a susceptibility or severity marker of KD in Chinese patients in Taiwan. The study included 105 KD patients and 100 normal controls. Genotype and allelic frequencies for the IL-10 gene polymorphism in both groups were compared. There were no significant between-group differences in the genotype distribution of IL-10 A-592C gene polymorphism (P=0.08). However, the frequency of the -592*A allele was significantly increased in the patients with KD compared with controls (71.9% vs. 61.0%, P=0.019). The odds ratio for developing KD in individuals with IL-10-592*A allele was 1.64 (95% confidence interval, 1.06-2.52) compared to individuals with the IL-10-592*C allele. No significant difference was observed in the genotype and allelic frequencies for the IL-10 A-592C polymorphism between patients with and without coronary artery lesions. The IL-10-592*A allele may be involved in the development of KD in Taiwanese children.

It is believed that boundary compositions of matrix proteins might play a role in stone formation; however, few proteomic studies concerning matrix proteins in urinary stones have been conducted. In this study, we extracted low molecular weight proteins from calcium oxalate stones and measured their characteristic patterns by mass spectroscopy. A total of 10 stones were surgically removed from patients with urolithiasis. Proteins were extracted from the stones and identified by one‐dimensional electrophoresis (sodium dodecyl sulfate buffer [SDS]–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis [SDS‐PAGE]). After in‐gel digest, samples were analyzed by the surface‐enhanced laser desorption ionization‐time of flight (SELDI‐TOF) technique. The peptide sequences were analyzed from the data of mass spectroscopy. Proteins were identified from Database Search (SwissProt Protein Database; Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics; http://www.expasy.org/sprot) on a MASCOT server (Matrix Science Ltd.; http://www.matrixscience.com). A total of three bands of proteins (27, 18, and 14 kDa) were identified from SDS‐PAGE in each stone sample. A database search (SwissProt) on a MASCOT server revealed that the most frequently seen proteins from band 1 (27 kDa) were leukocyte elastase precursor, cathepsin G precursor, azurocidin precursor, and myeloblastin precursor (EC 3.4.21.76) (leukocyte proteinase 3); band 2 (18 kDa) comprised calgranulin B, eosinophil cationic protein precursor, and lysozyme C precursor; band 3 (14 kDa) showed neutrophil defensin 3 precursor, calgranulin A, calgranulin C, and histone H4. The modifications and deamidations found from the mass pattern of these proteins may provide information for the study of matrix proteins. Various lower molecular weight proteins can be extracted from calcium oxalate stones. The characteristic patterns and their functions of those proteins should be further tested to investigate their roles in stone formation. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 22:77–85, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

High expression of circulating vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been reported in patients with Kawasaki disease (KD). In the pathophysiology of KD, VEGF is considered to be involved, especially in the development of coronary artery lesions. This study aimed to examine whether the VEGF-634 promoter polymorphism is a marker of KD susceptibility or severity in Chinese patients in Taiwan. The study included 93 KD patients and 96 normal control subjects. Genotype and allelic frequencies for the VEGF gene polymorphism in the two groups were compared. The number of individuals with the VEGF-634 G/G genotype was significantly greater among the patients with KD than among the healthy control subjects (p = 0.011). The odds ratio for the development of KD in individuals with the VEGF-634 G/G genotype was found to be 2.03 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14-3.63) compared with the VEGF-634 G/C and VEGF-634 C/C genotypes. No significant difference was observed in the genotype or allelic frequencies of VEGF C-634 G polymorphism between the patients with and those without coronary artery lesions. In conclusion, the results suggest that VEGF-634 G/G genotype may be involved in the development of KD in Taiwanese children.