Association of IgE-mediated allergen sensitivity and promoter polymorphisms of chemokine (C–C motif) ligand 5 gene in Han Chinese patients with allergic skin diseases

Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs2280788 (−28C>G) and rs2107538 (−403G>A), in the promoter region of chemokine (C–C motif) ligand 5 ( CCL5 ) was reported to be involved in the immunoglobulin E (IgE) expression and IgE-mediated allergic reactions. This study was to investigate the characteristics of total serum IgE level, specific allergen sensitivities and the two SNPs in the allergic skin disease (ASD) patients. ASD patients visiting the dermatological outpatient department of a local hospital were included with certain criteria, and the fasting venous blood was sampled for analysis. Total serum IgE was assayed with an ELISA kit, and 14 kinds of allergen-specific IgE were tested with an allergen screening system. The polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism method was used to analyze the two SNPs. Among the finally included 437 patients aged from 16 to 85 years, 68.2 % was positive for the total serum IgE, 49.2 % was positive for at least one of the assayed allergen-specific IgE, and 35.0 % was sensitive to house dust mite. In the SNPs analysis, the GG/(GA+AA) ratio and G/A ratio for the −403G>A locus in the male and/or female ≥45 years subgroup were significantly lower in the total serum IgE positive patients than in the negative patients ( P < 0.05). Weak linkage disequilibrium was found between −403A and −28C alleles in male subgroups adjusted by age. Conclusively, house dust mite was the most common allergen in ASD patients, and −403A allele of CCL5 promoter was a risk factor for IgE-mediated sensitization.