Variations in IL-12B gene causes disruption of various activities one of them is suppression of Th1 response and is one of the characteristic features observed in patients with active tuberculosis.
Along with prior studies demonstrating that therapy with IL-12 (the cytokine encoded in part by IL12B, associated with longer survival following MTB infection in mice deficient in CD4 T cells), our results suggest that this pathway might be an excellent target for the development of new modalities for treating TB, especially for HIV-positive individuals.
IL12B 3' UTR and promoter polymorphisms have been reported to be correlated with IL-12 p40 production and have been suggested to be associated with TB (tuberculosis) susceptibility.
A haplotype in interleukin 12B was nominally associated with tuberculosis (p = 0.02), but after permutation testing, done to assess the significance for the entire analysis, this was not globally significant.
Further, +1188 polymorphism of IL-12B gene either alone or in combination with closely linked genes may regulate IL-12p40 production and may play a major role on acquired immunity to tuberculosis.
Subjects with TB were not only more likely to have the high-expressing IL12B promoter genotype (P= 0.01) but also more likely to have this in the same haplotype with the high expressing 3'UTR allele (P= 0.0009).
Subjects with TB were not only more likely to have the high-expressing IL12B promoter genotype (P= 0.01) but also more likely to have this in the same haplotype with the high expressing 3'UTR allele (P= 0.0009).