IL-18 gene promoter polymorphism is involved in HIV-1 infection in a Brazilian pediatric population.

In our study, we identified a polymorphism (C-607A) in the promoter region of the IL-18 gene that shows different frequencies between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1-infected children and healthy controls in a pediatric Brazilian population. The presence of the -607 C allele correlates to HIV-1 infection and confers an increased risk of infection in subjects carrying the single nucleotide polymorphism.