Association of cytokine gene polymorphisms with hepatitis C virus infection in a population from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract

BackgroundThe host immune response is an important indicator of the outcome of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and disease progression. The aim of this study was to explore cytokine gene polymorphisms as a candidate for susceptibility to persistent HCV infection or HCV spontaneous clearance in a population from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.MethodsGenetic polymorphisms in the cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (−308), transforming growth factor-beta 1 (codons 10 and 25), interleukin-10 (IL-10; −1082 and −592), IL-6 (−174), and interferon-gamma (+874) were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific primers in 245 patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC), 41 spontaneous recovery (SR) patients, and 189 healthy volunteers. Further, polymorphisms in IL-28B (rs12979860, rs12980275, and rs8099917) were assessed by real-time polymerase chain reaction in all groups.ResultsThe IL-28B rs12979860 CC and rs12980275 AA genotypes were significantly associated with SR of HCV infection and response to therapy, whereas the C allele of IL-6 (−174) was associated with protection to CHC. A multivariate analysis showed that the male sex and IL-28B rs12979860 CT and TT and transforming growth factor-beta 1 (codon 10) TC genotypes were factors associated with CHC. Additionally, IL-6 (−174) C allele was increased in SR patients compared with patients with CHC.ConclusionIL-28B polymorphisms are associated with spontaneous clearance of HCV and response to therapy in a Brazilian population. Also, IL-6 (−174) C allele is involved in SR and decreased inflammation scores.

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“…Several studies have reported the distribution of the rs12979860 genotypes in different populations, mainly assessing its correlation with the susceptibility to different viral infections and response to antiviral treatments (Wu et al, 2012;Porto et al, 2015;Taheri et al, 2015;Echeverría et al, 2018). The correlation of this distribution and the local ancestry of these populations as well as its implications have also been assessed (Indolfi et al, 2014b;Rizzo et al, 2016), though this is the first report in an Argentinean global population.…”

Association of cytokine gene polymorphisms with chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 1b infection in Chinese Han population

“…[ 19 ] Fabrício-Silva et al also carried out a study among 221 Brazilian HCV patients, including 184 patients infected with genotype 1 and 37 patients infected with genotype 2. [ 20 ] They concluded that IL-28B gene polymorphism (rs12979860 and rs12980275) can predict spontaneous HCV clearance rate and SVR rate, and IL-6 (rs1800795) G allele was involved in increased inflammation scores. Similarly, a meta-analysis indicated that patients carrying G allele of IL-6 (rs1800795) may be more likely to suffer from liver diseases, which was ethnic-dependent.…”