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The interleukin-6 promoter polymorphism is associated with elevated leukocyte, lymphocyte, and monocyte counts and reduced physical fitness in young healthy smokers

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Abstract

Smoking and interleukin-6 are important factors in driving inflammation. This study assessed the relationship between smoking, interleukin-6 genotype, physical fitness, and peripheral blood count in healthy young men. For this interleukin-6 promoter polymorphism −174 genotype-phenotype association study 1,929 healthy German male aviators recruited at the central German Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine were stratified by smoking habits. Cardiovascular fitness was expressed as maximal physical working capacity (PWCmax) in watts per kilogram body weight as assessed by maximal exercise testing by cycle ergometry up to physical exhaustion. Smokers had higher leukocyte and lymphocyte counts than nonsmokers and lower PWCmax. In the overall study population the C allele of the interleukin-6 polymorphism was weakly associated with elevated leukocytes and lymphocytes; in nonsmokers the interleukin-6 polymorphism was not associated with altered phenotypes, but in smokers the interleukin-6 C allele was associated with higher leukocytes, lymphocytes, and monocytes and with lower PWCmax. Smoking is thus associated with elevated leukocytes and lymphocytes and with reduced physical fitness. Gene carriers with the interleukin-6 C allele may suffer particularly from cigarette smoking.

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Abbreviations

CRP :

C-reactive protein

IL :

Interleukin

PWCmax :

Maximal physical working capacity

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the START program of the University Hospital of Aachen. The work resulting in this report was performed in part under German Federal Ministry of Defense Contract 21L2-S-200103 (BMVg InSan I 1) and German Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine STAN-Research Approval 01-2002. The opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or official policy of the German Federal Ministry of Defense or the Flight Surgeon General.

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Ortlepp, J.R., Metrikat, J., Vesper, K. et al. The interleukin-6 promoter polymorphism is associated with elevated leukocyte, lymphocyte, and monocyte counts and reduced physical fitness in young healthy smokers. J Mol Med 81, 578–584 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00109-003-0471-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00109-003-0471-6

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