TNF-alpha promoter region polymorphisms affect HBV virus clearance in southern Chinese

There are many cytokines, including TNF-α, TGFβ, PGF, and other factors contributing towards fibrogenesis, that play a role in the control of HBV infection. Among these, TNF-α is the most important cytokine in host immune response to viral infection. This study aimed to determine whether differences in the promoter region of the TNF-α gene may alter the outcomes of HBV infection.

Two polymorphisms of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) gene, -308 G/A (rs1800629) and -863 C/A (rs1800630), were analyzed by DNA sequence in the case-control sample using 171 chronic HBV-infected patients and 227 recovered HBV-infected controls. All subjects were unrelated southern Han Chinese.

For TNF-α-308, healthy controls compared to HBV infection have a significantly higher allele A and GA genotype frequency. For TNF-α-863, no significant differences in allele or genotype frequencies between the case groups and the control group were observed.

This study provides evidence of a positive association between HBV clearance and TNF-α-308A.