Brief Reports
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2004. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jun 15, 2004; 10(12): 1810-1814
Published online Jun 15, 2004. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v10.i12.1810
Association of -238G/A polymorphism of tumor necrosis factor-alpha gene promoter region with outcomes of hepatitis B virus infection in Chinese Han population
Liang-Ping Lu, Xing-Wang Li, Ying Liu, Guo-Chang Sun, Xue-Ping Wang, Xi-Lin Zhu, Quan-You Hu, Hui Li
Liang-Ping Lu, Hui Li, Department of Epidemiology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences; School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100005, China
Xing-Wang Li, Department of Internal Medicine, Ditan Hospital, Beijing 100011, China
Xue-Ping Wang, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Ditan Hospital, Beijing 100011, China
Ying Liu, Xi-Lin Zhu, National Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences; School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100005, China
Guo-Chang Sun, Quan-You Hu, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shunyi District Hospital, Beijing 101300, China
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Supported by the Research Fund for the Doctoral Training Program from the Ministry of Education, No.2000002340 and Beijing Municipal Government Commission for Science & Technology, No. H020920020590
Correspondence to: Hui Li, Department of Epidemiology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences; School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, 5 Dongdan 3 Tiao, Beijing 100005, China. lihui99360@sohu.com
Telephone: +86-10-65296971 Fax: +86-10-65225752
Received: November 22, 2003
Revised: December 9, 2003
Accepted: December 16, 2003
Published online: June 15, 2004
Abstract

AIM: To clarify whether -238G/A polymorphism of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) gene promoter region was associated with outcomes of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in Han population of northern China, and to analyze the gene-environment interaction between -238G/A polymorphism and cigarette smoking or alcohol consumption.

METHODS: A case-control study was conducted to analyze the association of TNF-α gene promoter polymorphism with HBV infection outcomes. A total of 207 patients with chronic hepatitis B (HB) and 148 cases of self-limited HBV infection from Ditan Hospital and Shunyi District Hospital in Beijing, respectively were recruited. History of smoking and alcohol drinking was inquired by a questionnaire. The -238G/A polymorphism of TNF-α gene promoter was genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restricted fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP).

RESULTS: The frequencies of GG and GA genotypes were 98.07% and 1.93% in chronic HB patients and 93.24% and 6.76% in self-limited HBV infection individuals, respectively (χ2 = 5.30, P = 0.02). The frequency of G allele was significantly higher in patients with chronic HB that in individuals with self-limited HBV infection (99.03% vs 96.62%, χ2 = 5.20, P = 0.02). Only modestly increased risk of onset of chronic HB was found in smokers (OR = 1.40, 95% CI: 0.87-2.28, P = 0.14) and drinkers (OR = 1.26, 95% CI: 0.78-2.05, P = 0.32). There was a positive interaction between genotype GG and cigarette smoking with an interaction index (II) of 2.95, or alcohol consumption with an II of 1.64.

CONCLUSION: The -238G/A polymorphism of TNF-α gene promoter region is independently associated with different outcomes of HBV infection.

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