{{\par misc}{\par Leprosy}{\par Autophagy Gene Polymorphism}{\par Inflammatory citokines}{\par China}{\par }{\par Degang Yang}{\par Jia Chen}{\par Chao Shi}{\par Zhichun Jing}{\par Ningjing Song}{\par }{\par Autophagy gene polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to leprosy by affecting inflammatory cytokines.}{\par Autophagy and inflammation closely interact with each other, and together, they play critical roles in bacterial infection. Leprosy is caused by the infection of Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae). The objective of the study was to investigate the association between polymorphisms in IRGM, an autophagy gene, and susceptibility to leprosy, and identify possible functions of the polymorphism in the infection of M. leprae. Two polymorphisms in IRGM, rs4958842 and rs13361189, were tested in 412 leprosy cases and 432 healthy controls. Levels of inflammatory cytokines including interleukin 1 beta, IL-4, IL-6, and interferon gamma (INF-γ) were measured after the infection of M. leprae in the peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) of subjects with different genotypes of rs13361189. Data showed that prevalence of rs13361189TC and CC genotypes were significantly higher in leprosy patients than in healthy controls (odds ratio (OR) = 1.49, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.09-2.04, P = 0.012; OR = 2.58, 95 % CI 1.65-4.05, P }{\par 2013}{\par 1573-2576}{\par 10.1007/s10753-013-9773-1}{\par eng}{\par 24582}{\par http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24264476?dopt=Abstract}{\par }{\par }{\par }}