Abstract
BACKGROUND: Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is characterized by the clonal proliferation of immature lymphoid precursors in the bone marrow or peripheral blood. This study investigates whether genetic polymorphisms in IL-17RC are associated with an increased risk of ALL in the Saudi population. METHODS: This case-control study included 95 patients with ALL and 95 matched controls. Genetic polymorphisms and their associations with ALL risk were identified using logistic regression analysis. Additionally, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to assess the level of IL-17RC mRNA. RESULTS: The results revealed that carriers of the GA and AA genotypes of rs76999397 had a significantly increased risk of ALL (GA: odds ratios [OR] = 63.78, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 25.51-159.43, p < 0.0001; AA: OR = 18.22, 95% CI = 1.50-221.37, p < 0.0001). Additionally, we identified that an increased risk of ALL was associated with two haplotypes in IL-17RC, C-A and T-A (in the order of rs708567 and rs76999397) (OR = 46.73, 95% CI = 17.30-126.28; OR = 49.42, 95% CI = 6.95-351.45, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that the GA and AA genotypes of rs76999397 were significantly associated with an increased risk of ALL, whereas rs708567 did not show a significant association. Furthermore, the CA and TA haplotypes (rs708567/rs76999397) were found to be associated with increased susceptibility to ALL.