Published online Aug 14, 2006. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v12.i30.4788
Revised: April 15, 2006
Accepted: April 24, 2006
Published online: August 14, 2006
Genetic epidemiology researches such as twin studies, family-clustering of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection studies and ethnic difference studies have provided the evidence that host genetic factors play an important role in determining the outcome of HBV infection. The opening questions include which human genes are important in infection and how to find them. Though a number of studies have sought genetic associations between HBV infection/persistence and gene polymorphisms, the candidate gene-based approach is clearly inadequate to fully explain the genetic basis of the disease. With the advent of new genetic markers and automated genotyping, genetic mapping can be conducted extremely rapid. This approach has been successful in some infectious diseases. Linkage analysis can find host genes susceptible to HBV and is of great clinical importance.