title: Clearance of hepatitis C virus is not associated with single nucleotide polymorphisms in the IL-1, -6, or -10 genes.
abstract: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) commonly causes a chronic infection, but a minority of patients are able to clear the virus and do not run the risk of developing HCV-induced organ damage. Genetic associations between immunoregulatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1, -6, and -10 with clinical features of HCV, including virus clearance, have been inconsistent. We determined cytokine genotypes in 606 patients who had serologic evidence of HCV exposure, 190 (18%) of whom were consistently negative for HCV RNA, indicating successful virus clearance. There was no significant difference in genotype frequencies between HCV clearance and nonclearance groups for IL-1B (-511 and +3954), IL-1A (+4845), IL-1RN (+2018), IL-6 (-174), or IL-10 (-1082). We conclude that these single nucleotide polymorphisms are unlikely to play an important, if any, role in determining the likelihood of clearing HCV infection.
authors.affiliation: Infection and Travel Medicine, St. James's University Hospital, Leeds, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Elizabeth J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Minton
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Smillie
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shipley
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: McKendrick
authors.forename: Dermot C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Gleeson
authors.forename: James C E
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Underwood
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cannings
authors.forename: Anthony G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006505:Hepatitis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000235:genetics*; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000235:genetics*; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D007375:Interleukin-1; D015850:Interleukin-6; D016753:Interleukin-10