Association of IL-6 and IL-10 serum levels with genetic variants in diabetic neuropathy: Clinical findings from a Bangladeshi patient cohort

Background Diabetic Neuropathy (DN) is a prevalent complication of diabetes linked to chronic inflammation. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and Interleukin-10 (IL-10) are key cytokines implicated in DN pathogenesis. This study investigates the association of IL6 and IL10 gene polymorphisms and serum levels with DN in the Bangladeshi population. Materials and methods A case-control study was conducted with 225 participants: diabetic patients with DN (n = 75), diabetic patients without DN (n = 75), and healthy controls (n = 75). Genomic DNA was extracted for genotyping IL-6 (rs1800796) and IL-10 (rs1800896) SNPs via PCR. Serum cytokine levels were measured using ELISA. Results Serum IL-6 levels were significantly higher in the DN group than in the other study groups (p < 0.0001), with the highest levels observed among individuals with the IL-6 rs1800796 CC genotype. In unadjusted analyses, the IL-6 CC genotype was associated with increased odds of DN compared with healthy controls (OR = 4.813, 95% CI: 1.752–13.85, p = 0.0040), as was the IL-10 GG genotype (OR = 2.679, 95% CI: 1.000–6.751, p = 0.0373). However, neither IL-6 nor IL-10 genotype remained independently associated with DN after multivariable adjustment. Serum IL-10 levels did not differ significantly among the study groups (p = 0.0948). Combined genotype analyses showed several nominal associations, although these findings were exploratory. Serum IL-6 showed promising discriminatory ability in distinguishing patients with DN from the other study groups, whereas IL-10 demonstrated limited discriminatory performance. Conclusion These findings support further investigation of serum IL-6 as a potential candidate biomarker for diabetic neuropathy, whereas the independent contribution of the investigated IL-6 and IL-10 polymorphisms remains uncertain. Larger prospective studies with independent external validation are required before clinical application can be considered.