Association between interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) gene polymorphisms (+874A/T and +2109A/G), and susceptibility to hepatitis B viral infection (HBV).

Mahmoud F Dondeti, Mohamed S Abdelkhalek, Hosam M El-Din Elezawy, Walaa F Alsanie, Bassem M Raafat, Amira M Gamal-Eldeen, Roba M Talaat

Journal of applied biomedicine 2022 Mar

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Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) is a chief proinflammatory cytokine with a significant role in the immune response against viral infections. Today there is increasing evidence about the association between individual genetic polymorphisms and cytokines in predicting HBV infection susceptibility. This study aimed to investigate the association between IFN-γ gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to hepatitis B viral infection (HBV), and the impact of these genetic polymorphisms on IFN-γ production. IFN-γ (+874A/T, rs2430561, and +2109A/G, rs1861494) was genotyped by single-stranded polymorphism-polymerase chain reaction (SSP-PCR) in 126 Egyptians with chronic HBV infection and in 100 healthy control subjects. The plasma levels of IFN-γ were measured by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Compared to the control subjects there was a slight increase in +874TT genotype frequency in HBV patients. However, no statistical significance in IFN-γ (+874A/T and +2109A/G) genotype/allele distribution was demonstrated, indicating the lack of association between these SNPs and susceptibility to HBV infection. In +2109A/G, only AG genotype was observed with a complete abrogation of GG and AA genotypes. Haplotypes between different loci on selected genes showed insignificant changes in their frequency in patients and control subjects. HBV patients had a significantly higher level of IFN-γ (P < 0.001) compared to controls. The maximum significant increase in IFN-γ production was observed in subjects harboring the +874TA genotype. As no association could be characterized between the polymorphism in IFN-γ (+874A/T and +2109A/G) and susceptibility to chronic HBV infection, our data support the concept that IFN-γ gene polymorphisms are not predictors of HBV susceptibility in this segment of the Egyptian population.

Citation

Mahmoud F Dondeti, Mohamed S Abdelkhalek, Hosam M El-Din Elezawy, Walaa F Alsanie, Bassem M Raafat, Amira M Gamal-Eldeen, Roba M Talaat. Association between interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) gene polymorphisms (+874A/T and +2109A/G), and susceptibility to hepatitis B viral infection (HBV). Journal of applied biomedicine. 2022 Mar;20(1):37-43