Genetic Polymorphism of IL36RN in Han Patients with Generalized Pustular Psoriasis Alone in Sichuan Region

OBJECTIVE: To detect interleukin-36-receptor antagonist gene (IL36RN) in Han patients with generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) alone in Sichuan region for the purpose of clarification of GPP pathogenesis. METHODS: Genomic DNA of GPP patients, psoriasis vulgaris (PV) patients and normal controls was extracted and subjected to PCR for the amplification of entire encoding and splice sites of IL36RN gene followed by bidirectional sequencing. Differences in frequencies of IL36RN variants between three groups were analyzed. The variant frequency between pediatric-onset GPP (PGPP) and adult-onset GPP (AGPP) was also compared. RESULTS: Three IL36RN variants (c.115+6T>C, c.140A>G, c.227C>T) were found in Han GPP patients from Sichuan. Among them, c.115+6T>C had the highest frequency. Compared with PV patients and normal controls, all the variants frequency had statistical significance (P 0.05). CONCLUSION: IL36RN may be the most common disease-causing gene in the patients with GPP alone in Han population from Sichuan region.