Interleukin-4 Gene Expression and Serum Levels as Biomarkers of Allergic Asthma in Iraqi Patients

Abstract

Background. Allergic asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airway in which exposure to allergens leads to a complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors, while many cytokines are involved in the immune mechanism of the disease including cytokines such as interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-4 plays a critical role in the inflammatory process. Aim.  This study aimed to investigate the relationship between gene expression and serum levels of IL-4 with Iraqi allergic asthmatic patients. Methods.  A total of 100 patients and 50 healthy controls participated in reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used for gene expressions and IL-4 serum levels determined through ELISA. Results. The Results demonstrated a significant increase in IL-4 gene expression in asthma patients compared to control, (Average fold change of 6.885). Similarly, serum IL-4 concentrations were significantly elevated in patients (mean fold change of 383.6516), correlating moderately with gene expression changes (ρ = 0.678). Conclusion. The study underscores the importance of IL-4 in allergic asthma and suggests that IL-4 expression and serum levels could aid in monitoring asthma activity.