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Published on: May 25, 2017
Polymorphisms in the transforming growth factor-beta gene (TGF-beta) and the risk of advanced alcoholic liver disease
Javier Oliver1, José A G Agúndez, Sonia Morales
1Instituto de Parasitología y Biomedicina, CSIC, Granada, Spain.
Background/Aims:
There are wide interindividual differences in the risk of developing alcoholic cirrhosis. Transforming growth factor beta(1) (TGF-beta(1)) is the main cytokine involved in liver fibrogenesis. The TGF-beta(1) gene is polymorphic at several sites and these polymorphisms are probably related to differences in the rate of TGF-beta(1) synthesis. Our aim has been to analyse the influence of the TGF-beta(1) gene polymorphisms in the predisposition to advanced alcoholic liver disease (ALD) in ethanol abusers.
Methods:
TGF-beta(1) single nucleotide polymorphisms at positions -509 (C or T), +869 (C or T, codon 10), and +915 (C or G, codon 25) were examined in 165 alcoholics with advanced ALD and in 185 healthy controls.
Results:
Among the 94 male patients with oesophageal varices, those carrying the GG genotype at position +915 were diagnosed at an older age than the remaining patients (age 52.1 years, standard deviation (SD) 9.9 vs. 45 SD 13.4, P=0.012). No other statistically significant differences were found in the distribution of the three TGF-beta(1) polymorphisms analysed individually or as combined haplotypes.
Conclusions:
The polymorphisms at the TGF-beta(1) gene analysed in this study are probably not related to the risk of advanced ALD.
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