title: Role of single nucleotide polymorphisms of KIF1B gene in HBV-associated viral hepatitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Kinesin family member 1B (KIF1B) gene resides in the chromosomal region 1p36.22 and has been reported to have frequent deletions in a variety of human cancers. A recent genome wide association study (GWAS) study conducted on a Chinese population has reported the involvement of a KIF1B genetic variant in Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aims to investigate the significance of KIF1B genetic variations in HBV-associated hepatitis in patients of Saudi Arabian ethnicity.
  
  
  METHODS
  TaqMan genotyping assay was used to investigate the association of three SNPs (rs17401966, rs12734551, and rs3748578) in 584 normal healthy controls and 660 HBV-infected patients. The patients were categorized into inactive carriers (Case I), active carriers (Case II), Cirrhosis (Case III) and Cirrhosis-HCC (Case IV) sub-groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Since SNPs rs12734551 and rs3748578 are in strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) with rs17401966, only results for the latter SNP are reported. Therefore, the allele frequency of rs17401966 among HBV-infected patients and healthy controls were comparable and therefore, no significant association was observed (P=0.2811, Odds Ratio (OR) 0.897). A similar analysis was performed among the different sub-groups in order to determine whether KIF1B SNPs were associated with the advancement of the disease. No significant differences were observed in any of the comparisons performed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Polymorphisms at KIF1B gene locus investigated in this study showed no significant association with HBV infection or with HBV-associated diseases such as liver cirrhosis or HCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infection and Immunity, Research Center, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. aqahtani@kfshrc.edu.sa
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Qahtani
authors.forename: Mashael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al-Anazi
authors.forename: Nisha A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Viswan
authors.forename: Nisreen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Khalaf
authors.forename: Ayman A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Abdo
authors.forename: Faisal M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Sanai
authors.forename: Hamad
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Al-Ashgar
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al-Ahdal
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005819:Genetic Markers; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006239:Haplotypes / Q000235:genetics; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000502:physiology*; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D016547:Kinesins / Q000235:genetics*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers; C091053:KIF1B protein, human; D016547:Kinesins