Allele polymorphisms of interleukin-10 and hepatitis B, C virus infection.
BACKGROUND
Interleukin 10 (IL-10) is an important cytokine with anti-inflammatory, anti-immune and anti-fibrotic functions. This study aimed at evaluating the relationship between allele polymorphisms in the IL-10 promoter region and hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.


METHODS
The odds ratios (ORs) of IL-10 allele distributions in patients with HBV or HCV infection were analyzed against healthy controls. All the relevant studies in PubMed were identified, and poor qualified studies were excluded. The meta-analysis software REVMAN 4.2 was applied for investigating heterogeneity among individual studies and summarizing all the studies. The publication bias was also evaluated.


RESULTS
This study demonstrated a significant association between the IL-10-592 A/C polymorphism and HBV infection in the Asian population under the overall effect size of allele A versus C. In our subgroup meta-analysis, we found a significant association of IL-10-592 A/C polymorphism to HCV infection susceptibility in Asian populations, although sensitivity analysis showed that the combined result was not associated with the worldwide population. Other IL-10 allele polymorphisms were not associated with HBV or HCV infection.


CONCLUSIONS
IL-10-592 A/C allele might be a risk factor for HBV or HCV in Asians but not in Europeans.
Lu
Yong-liang
YL
Huzhou Teachers College School of Medicine, Huzhou, Zhejiang 313000, China.
Wu
Xiao
X
Huang
Hui-lian
HL
Dai
Li-cheng
LC
D000483:Alleles; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000235:genetics*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics
D016753:Interleukin-10