Background: The gene encoding CD14 is a positional candidate gene for allergic diseases as it is localized on chromosome 5q31, a region that is linked to atopy-related phenotypes. Although it has been shown that a polymorphism in the 5' region of the CD14 gene is associated with food allergy in white subjects, it is not clear whether this association is also present in the Japanese population.
Methods: Eighty-eight children with food allergy were recruited along with 101 children controls without food allergy. DNA samples from these subjects were genotyped by PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assay to investigate the relationship between two polymorphisms in the 5' region of the CD14 gene (C-159T and C-550T) and food allergy.
Results: There was no association among the CD14 alleles, dominant model or recessive model of either polymorphism with food allergy.
Conclusions: The CD14-159 and -550 polymorphisms might not play a major role in the pathogenesis of food allergy in Japanese children.