Predicting the risk of developing vibration disease and vegetative-sensory polyneuropathy under vibration exposure using analysis of candidate gene polymorphism

In this study, we investigated the association of IL-6 (rs1800795), TNF-α (rs361525), IL-1β (rs16944), MMP-1 (rs1799750) and SOD2 (rs4880) gene polymorphisms with the risk of developing vibration disease (VD) and autonomic sensory polyneuropathy (ASPN). We examined 45 patients with VB, 10 patients with ASPN and 76 people who were not exposed to vibration in their professional activities. Polymorphic gene variants were determined using a real-time polymerase chain reaction. The polymorphic variant rs16944 of the IL-1β gene was established to carry both the G allele (p = 0.027) and the homozygous G/G genotype (p = 0.015) with elevated frequency in the group of patients with VD relative to the control group. Allele A of the rs361525 polymorphic variant of the TNF-α gene was more common in patients with ASPN as compared to controls, (p = 0.047). Statistically significant differences in polymorphic variants rs1800795 of the IL-6 gene, rs1799750 of the MMP-1 gene and rs4880 of the SOD2 gene were not found in both groups of patients as compared to the control group. However, when comparing groups of patients with each other, we established that the G allele of the polymorphic variant rs1800795 of the IL-6 gene was more often recorded in patients with ASPN (p = 0.032). The results obtained by examining the patients with VD and ASPN made it possible to establish that the rs361525 polymorphic variant of the TNF-α gene is associated with an elevated risk of developing ASPN, while carriers of the homozygous genotype G/G of the rs16944 polymorphic variant of the IL-1β gene have a high prognostic risk of developing VD. Polymorphic variants of the IL-1β and TNF-α genes can be considered probable molecular genetic predictors of VD and ASPN.