title: In Egyptians, a mutation in the lymphotoxin-alpha gene may increase susceptibility to hepatitis C virus but not that to schistosomal infection.
abstract: In Egypt, human schistosomiasis is a chronic endemic disease that can produce portal hypertension and occasionally death. Curiously, most Egyptian cases of the disease are complicated by co-infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV), the co-infection generally resulting in more severe liver disease than seen in those only infected with HCV. The high frequency of co-infection may be the result of transmission of the virus during parental schistosomal therapy or schistosomiasis-related surgery but it also seems possible that certain individuals are particularly susceptible to both schistosome and HCV infection. Lymphotoxin-alpha (LTalpha) participates in inflammatory responses, and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the human LTalpha gene have recently been found to have profound effects on individual susceptibility to various diseases, including some of those caused by parasitic infection. The possibility that the SNP that create an NcoI restriction site in the gene are associated with increased susceptibility to schistosomal and/or HCV infection has now been investigated in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. The subjects investigated were 22 patients infected only with HCV, 44 cases of schistosomal hepatic fibrosis (SHF) who were either co-infected with HCV (22) or HCV-free (22), and 22 apparently healthy, schistosome-free and HCV-free controls. When each of these subjects was tested for the NcoI polymorphism in their LTalpha gene, by PCR-RFLP, those with isolated HCV infection and those co-infected with Schistosoma and HCV (but not those infected with Schistosoma alone) were found significantly more likely to carry the mutation than the control subjects (P<0.05). When the cases of SHF were pooled together (irrespective of HCV-infection status), they were not found significantly more likely to have the mutation than the controls. At least in Egypt, therefore, the LTalpha mutation may have a role in susceptibility to HCV infection (and the subsequent development of clinical manifestations) but appears to have little if any effect on susceptibility to schistosome infection. Larger studies are now needed to confirm these results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Pathology, Medical Research Institute Teaching Hospital, Alexandria University, 165 El-Horreya Street, PO Box 21561, Alexandria, Egypt. myelsammak@doctors.org.uk
authors.forename: M Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Elsammak
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Al-Sharkaweey
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Ragab
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Amin
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Kandil
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004534:Egypt; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D016174:Hepacivirus; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000235:genetics* / Q000469:parasitology; D006801:Humans; D008109:Liver Diseases, Parasitic / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology; D008233:Lymphotoxin-alpha / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D012547:Schistosoma; D012552:Schistosomiasis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D008233:Lymphotoxin-alpha