IFNAR1 gene polymorphism associated with chronic hepatitis B virus infection in a Thai population

Abstract

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is the most common cause of chronic hepatitis. Some patients go on to develop liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Genetics constitutes an important factor in the pathogenesis of chronic HBV. We therefore investigated the effect of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of type I IFN receptor 1 (IFNAR1) gene on chronic HBV infection in Thais. Three SNPs (rs2843710, rs2257167, and rs17875871 harbouring a 4-bp insertion/deletion, a G-568C, and a G19158C substitution, respectively) of the IFNAR1 gene were determined in 567 subjects including 128 chronic HBV patients with HCC, 127 chronic HBV patients without HCC, 176 individuals with self-limited HBV infection, and 136 healthy controls. The polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method was used to analyse rs2843710 and rs2257167 SNPs. For rs17875871, a PCR- single strand conformation polymorphism method was applied to genotype this SNP. The results showed a relationship between the GG genotype of rs2843710 (G-568C) with a protective effect on chronic HBV infection when compared to GC and CC genotypes (OR = 0.50, p = 0.022). For the rs2257167 (G19158C), the G allele was significantly associated with a susceptibility to chronic HBV infection as compared to healthy individuals (OR = 1.44, p = 0.017). The effect of the G allele was similar to that of the autosomal dominant in comparison between GG and GC genotypes with CC genotype (OR = 1.83, p = 0.022). However, we found no significant associations of rs17875871 with chronic HBV disease (p > 0.05). Nevertheless, additional studies with a larger sample size are needed to verify this.