title: Immunoglobulin GM and KM genotypes in hepatitis C virus infection.
abstract: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major health problem, affecting over 170 million people worldwide. HCV causes a wide spectrum of liver disease, varying from persistent to asymptomatic infection. To evaluate the role of immunoglobulin (Ig) GM and KM genes in HCV infection, 191 HCV-infected Thai subjects were studied. These included 43 individuals with transient HCV infection and 148 individuals with persistent chronic HCV infection. The controls consisted of 134 healthy individuals. Several GM and KM alleles were determined by polymerase chain reaction-based methods. The frequency of G1M(f) homozygotes was lower (52.4% vs. 64.2%, P = 0.03) and the frequency of G1M(z) homozygotes was higher (10.5% vs. 3.7%, P = 0.02) in patients than the respective frequencies in controls. These results suggest that GM genotypes make a significant contribution to the risk of acquiring HCV infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Transfusion Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. sisve@mahidol.ac.th
authors.forename: Sasijit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vejbaesya
authors.forename: Taweesak
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanwandee
authors.forename: Janardan P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Pandey
mesh_terms: D005787:Gene Frequency; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007126:Immunoglobulin Allotypes; D007129:Immunoglobulin Gm Allotypes; D007142:Immunoglobulin gamma-Chains / Q000235:genetics*; D007145:Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D007126:Immunoglobulin Allotypes; D007129:Immunoglobulin Gm Allotypes; D007142:Immunoglobulin gamma-Chains; D007145:Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains