Functional Analysis of IL-6 Genetic Variants and Their Potential Role in Lipid Homeostasis and Inflammatory Regulation in Colombian Athletes

Obesity and metabolic dysregulation are closely associated with chronic low-grade inflammation, in which interleukin-6 (IL-6) plays a key regulatory role. Genetic variation in the IL-6 gene may influence inflammatory responses and metabolic homeostasis. To identify single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) in the IL-6 gene in a cohort of Colombian high-performance athletes and to evaluate their potential functional and structural consequences using bioinformatic prediction and protein-modeling approaches. A descriptive observational study was conducted in a cohort of 23 high-performance Colombian athletes from Valle del Cauca representing cycling, karate, and weightlifting disciplines. Genomic Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) extracted from peripheral blood samples was analyzed using Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS). Identified variants were evaluated using several in silico prediction tools, including Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST version 2.16.0), Expert Protein Analysis System (ExPASy version 4.0), Open Reading Frame Finder (ORFfinder version 0.4.3), and population databases such as Genome Aggregation Database (gnomAD version 4.0). Structural modeling was used to explore the potential impact of amino-acid substitutions on IL-6 protein stability. Eight single-nucleotide variants were identified in the IL-6 gene. Among them, the rs1524107 variant generated a missense substitution predicted to modify the amino-acid sequence of the IL-6 protein. Structural modeling suggested a potential alteration in protein stability associated with this variant. The rs1524107 variant may influence IL-6 protein structure according to computational predictions. These findings provide preliminary hypothesis-generating evidence regarding the potential role of IL-6 genetic variation in inflammatory regulation; however, functional validation and larger cohort studies are required to determine their biological significance.