Abstract:Objective To study the relationship of polymorphism of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPAR γ) gene with susceptibility to neonatal pneumonia and serum inflammatory cytokines. Methods Totally 90 neonates with infectious pneumonia admitted to our hospital from March 2016 to March 2019 were divided into mild pneumonia group (52 cases) and severe pneumonia group (38 cases). Another 80 healthy neonates delivered in our hospital during the same period were selected as control group. The polymorphism of PPAR γ gene rs1801282 and the levels of serum inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor- α (TNF-α), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) were detected. Results The proportion of CC genotype, the frequency of allele C and the contents of serum IL-6, TNF- α, ICAM-1 in serum of severe pneumonia group and mild pneumonia group were higher than those in control group (P < 0.05); the proportion of GC+GG genotype, the frequency of allele G were lower than those in control group (P < 0.05); and the proportion of CC genotype, the frequency of allele C and the contents of serum IL-6, TNF-α, ICAM-1 in serum of severe pneumonia group were higher than those in mild pneumonia group (P < 0.05); the proportion of GC+GG genotype and the frequency of allele G were lower than those in mild pneumonia group (P < 0.05); in the pneumonia group, the contents of serum IL-6, TNF-α and ICAM-1 in the GC+GG genotype newborns were lower than those in the CC genotype newborns (P < 0.05). Conclusion The C-to-G mutation at rs1801282 of PPAR γ gene can reduce the release of inflammatory cytokines, which may be a protective factor for neonatal pneumonia.