Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 gene polymorphisms in hepatocellular carcinoma patients in Egypt

Abstract

ObjectiveOur objective is to examine the genotypes at rs231775 in the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 gene (CTLA4) in an Egyptian population to detect the association between this single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).BackgroundCTLA-4 is an important negative regulator in immune response. Its polymorphism +49G>A (dbSNP: rs231775) has been linked to an increased risk of T-cell-mediated autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases, and even carcinomas.MethodsThis study included 30 HCC patients (26 men and four women) and 20 healthy controls (18 men and two women). Laboratory investigations including complete blood picture, liver function tests, serum a-fetoprotein, and hepatitis viral markers (HBsAg, anti-HCV-Ab) were performed for all participants. The CTLA4 polymorphism at rs231775 was genotyped using the TaqMan allelic discrimination Assay technique.ResultsThe data showed a higher frequency of the A/A genotype (40 vs. 10%) and the A allele (55 vs. 27.5%) in patient groups (HCC) compared with the healthy controls. Our results also indicated a statistically significant difference in CTLA4 rs231775 between HCC patients and healthy controls in the AA genotype and the A allele (P = 0.04, 0.012), respectively.ConclusionOur results suggested that the A/A genotype and the A allele of rs231775 increase the risk of developing HCC in an Egyptian population, whereas the G allele appeared to have a protective effect in developing HCC.