Abstract OBJECTIVE: To elucidate whether the polymorphism of asthma immune regulator gene TIM-4 is associated with the risk of childhood allergic asthma in the southwest region of China. METHODS: TIM-4 gene promoter region RS6882076 and intron RS4704727 were studied. PCR-RFLP was used to test the genotypes of two polymorphism loci among 579 cases (average 7.2 years old) of asthma and 524 controls (average 7.6 years old) in a case-control study. RESULTS: There were significant differences in the frequency of gene types at RS4704727 site between the asthma and the control groups (P0.05). CONCLUSIONS: RS4704727 polymorphism of TIM-4 gene may be associated with childhood asthma, providing a better understanding of the pathogenesis of childhood asthma in the Southwest region of China.
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