title: Distribution of IL28B Genotypes in Iranian Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C and Healthy Individuals.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  IL28B polymorphism is recognized as one of the most prominent predictors of hepatitis C spontaneous and treatment-induced clearance. Interestingly, the favorable genotypes of IL28B are found to be more frequent in Asian ethnicity than Caucasian and African populations, respectively. A few studies reported that there is a mysterious association between the IL28B polymorphism and the hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype in patients with chronic hepatitis C but they did not give any reason for this phenomenon.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The foremost purpose of this study was to compare the distribution of IL28B genotypes between Iranian healthy individuals and patients with chronic hepatitis C.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study, 921 patients with chronic hepatitis C and 142 healthy individuals were included. The IL28B rs12979860 and rs8099917 polymorphisms were genotyped using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The frequency of IL28B rs12979860 CC, CT, and TT genotypes in chronic hepatitis C patients was 38%, 48.8%, and 13.2% and in healthy individuals was 43.7%, 48.6%, and 7.7%. Also, the frequency of IL28B rs8099917 TT, GT, and GG genotypes in chronic hepatitis C patients was 58.3%, 37.1%, and 4.6% and in healthy individuals was 64.1%, 32.4% and 3.5%. The differences in the distribution of IL28B rs12979860 and rs8099917 genotypes between patients with chronic hepatitis C and healthy individuals were not statistically significant. When we compared the distribution of IL28B genotypes between the healthy group and the HCV infected patients by HCV genotype, we found 9.8% higher frequency of rs12979860 CC genotype in the healthy individuals than HCV genotype 1 infected patients (P = 0.03) however there was no significant difference in the distribution of rs12979860 genotypes between the healthy and HCV genotype 3 infected groups (P = 0.46).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It seems that the impact of IL28B polymorphism on the spontaneous clearance of HCV genotype 1 is more prominent than HCV genotype 3 which results in the observation of higher rs12979860 C allele frequency in chronic hepatitis C patients with HCV genotype 3 than HCV genotype 1.
authors.affiliation: Armin Pathobiology Laboratory, Tehran, Iran ; Tehran Hepatitis Cohort (THC) Study Center, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Heidar
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sharafi
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pouryasin
authors.forename: Seyed Moayed
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Alavian
authors.forename: Bita
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Behnava
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Keshvari
authors.forename: Shima
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Salimi
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mehrnoush
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fatemi
keywords: Hepatitis C; IL28B Genotype, Human; Iran; Persian Gulf; Polymorphism, Genetic
references.citation: Liver Int. 2011 Jan;31 Suppl 1:29-35
references.pmid: 21205135
references.citation: Nat Genet. 2009 Oct;41(10):1100-4
references.pmid: 19749758
references.citation: Nature. 2009 Sep 17;461(7262):399-401
references.pmid: 19684573
references.citation: Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2012 Jul;36(2):91-103
references.pmid: 22591106
references.citation: Gut. 2011 Jun;60(6):837-45
references.pmid: 21139063
references.citation: PLoS One. 2012;7(6):e38578
references.pmid: 22719902
references.citation: J Clin Immunol. 2011 Oct;31(5):891-9
references.pmid: 21647799
references.citation: J Gastrointestin Liver Dis. 2011 Dec;20(4):397-406
references.pmid: 22187706
references.citation: Gastroenterology. 2010 Apr;138(4):1338-45, 1345.e1-7
references.pmid: 20060832
references.citation: Semin Liver Dis. 2000;20(1):17-35
references.pmid: 10895429
references.citation: Gastroenterology. 2010 Jun;138(7):2307-14
references.pmid: 20176026
references.citation: N Engl J Med. 2009 Aug 6;361(6):580-93
references.pmid: 19625712
references.citation: J Viral Hepat. 2006 Jan;13(1):34-41
references.pmid: 16364080
references.citation: Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2012 Aug;36(4):353-62
references.pmid: 22742526
references.citation: Nature. 2009 Oct 8;461(7265):798-801
references.pmid: 19759533
references.citation: Hepat Mon. 2012 Mar;12(3):190-5
references.pmid: 22550527
references.citation: Nat Genet. 2009 Oct;41(10):1105-9
references.pmid: 19749757
references.citation: Hepatology. 2010 Jul;52(1):33-7
references.pmid: 20578254
references.citation: Arch Med Res. 2007 Aug;38(6):606-11
references.pmid: 17613351