IN SILICO ANALYSIS OF INTERLEUKIN 10 (IL 10) VARIANTS THAT ARE CANDIDATES FOR AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES IN HUMANS

Abstract

IL 10 is a cytokine with immunoregulatory functions, acting both in the suppression and stimulation of the immune system. Polymorphisms in the promoter region of the IL 10 gene can influence its expression and the production of IL 10, which varies between individuals due to genetic factors. Using bioinformatics tools, the study analyzed three variants of the gene and found associations of these with autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and inflammatory bowel disease. The study also investigated the phylogeny of the IL 10 gene in mammals, including Homo sapiens, Mus musculus (mouse), Equus caballus (horse), Rattus norvegicus (rat), and Mesocricetus auratus (Syrian hamster). The phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the IL 10 gene is highly conserved among species, suggesting that it evolved from a common ancestor and has been preserved as a result of its adaptive value, being a gene conserved even after divergent evolution among the species studied. Analysis of the dN/dS ratio revealed a negative selection, indicating that changes in the amino acid sequence were avoided by natural selection. A phylogenetic tree was constructed using the "Maximum Likelihood" method, revealing a close relationship between the genes of R. norvegicus, M. musculus and M. auratus, while the genes of H. sapiens and E. caballus were grouped with high reliability. The research reinforces the importance of understanding the evolution of genes for comparative medicine and the classification of organisms, helping to identify adaptive changes between homologous genes.