The Impact of IFN‐γ Gene Polymorphisms on Spontaneous Clearance of HCV Infection in Fars Province, Southern of Iran

摘要

BackgroundCertain polymorphisms in cytokine genes such as IFN-γ may influence the outcome of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Here the frequency of the genotype, allele, and haplotype of IFN-γ gene at some loci is investigated in HCV-infected patients. MethodsTotally 255 patients with chronic HCV infection and 44 spontaneously cleared individuals were included. The chronic or clearance states were confirmed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and two different qualitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) techniques. IFN-γ gene polymorphisms were performed by PCR using sequence-specific primers and PCR-RLFP on extracted genomic DNA. ResultsThe frequency of GG genotype ( P = 0.0001, OR: 5.69 and CI: 2.21–14.62) and allele ( P = 0.0003, OR: 2.73 and CI: 1.54–4.83) of IFN-γ gene at +2109 locus was significantly higher in cases that spontaneously cleared the infection. Haplotype analysis showed the association of AG haplotype ( P = 0.0046, OR = 6.14 and CI = 1.56–25) with spontaneous clearance of the infection. ConclusionOur finding indicated that individuals with GG genotype at +2109 loci of IFN-γ gene and also AG haplotype (A allele at +874 loci and G allele at +2109 loci) may clear HCV infection more frequently than those with AA and AG genotype at +2109 loci and AA, TA, and TG haplotype.