Objective: To investigate an association between the interleukin-1β (IL-1β)-511 T>C (rs16944), -31 C>T (rs1143627), and/or interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) polymorphisms and gastritis and then to correlate any associations with the presence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), cagA and vacA genes. Methods: Gastric biopsies were obtained from 377 children with gastric symptoms including 152 males and 225 females aging from 1-15 years with the mean age of (9.41 ± 4.29) years. To

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... ize the -511 T>C, -31 C>T, and IL-1RA polymorphisms, the PCR-RFLP and PCR-VNTR methods were used. PCR was also used for the diagnosis of H. pylori and to determine whether cagA and vacA genes were present. Results: The histopathological analysis revealed 206 patients (54.6%) with gastritis and 171 patients (45.4%) with normal gastric tissue. Subjects carrying the -511 T/T genotype were associated with a risk of gastritis (odds ratio (OR) = 2.75, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.45-5.18, P = 0.0035). Similar results were found in subjects carrying -31 C/C (OR = 2.27, 95% CI 1.13-4.54, P = 0.0440). However, the IL-1RA polymorphism did not seem to be associated with gastric disease (OR = 1.38, 95% CI 0.58-3.26, P = 0.2400). Conclusions: This data suggests that IL-1β gene cluster polymorphisms and, more specifically, interactions between these polymorphisms and H. pylori may be predictors of gastritis risks, which possibly play a relevant role in the susceptibility to or the development of gastric disease early in life.