Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology 1735-1502 16 4 2017 08 12 321 328 EN Maryam Sadri Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mazdak Ganjalikhani-Hakemi Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran Peyman Akbari Division of Immunopharmacology, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands Rasoul Salehi Department of Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran Sedighe Rastaghi Department of Biostatistics, School of Health, Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences, Sabzevar, Iran Ramin Ghasemi Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran Rezvan Meshkat Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran 2016 08 07 2017 04 09 T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain (TIM)-3 have been shown to negatively regulate Th1 cell-mediated immunity. Activation of TIM-3 by galectin-9 induces Th1 cell apoptosis, which may contribute to skewing of immune response towards Th2-dominant immunity. The aim of this study was to determine whether certain genetic variations of TIM-3 influence predisposition to asthma in a sample of Iranian population. This case-control study was conducted on 209 patients with asthma and 200 healthy controls. The +4259 T>G and -574 G>T polymorphisms were detected using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism(PCR-RFLP) and amplification refractory mutation system-PCR(ARMS-PCR). Total serum IgE was further measured with ELISA. Notably, +4259T > G and-574G>T polymorphisms of TIM-3 were significantly associated with the susceptibility to asthma. In addition, the present study showed a significant difference between the distribution frequency of the GT + TT genotype and T allele on the +4259 T>G and -574 G>T locus between the groups.However, no correlation between the +4259 T > G and -574G > T polymorphisms and total serum IgE levels were observed. Together these results suggest that the TIM-3 +4259 T>G and -574 G>T polymorphisms are greatly associated with the susceptibility of Iranian population to asthma, which could open up new horizons for  better understanding of the pathophysiology, diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic approaches of asthma.  https://ijaai.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijaai/article/view/1026 https://ijaai.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijaai/article/download/1026/756