title: Association of an HLA-G 14-bp Insertion/Deletion polymorphism with high HBV replication in chronic hepatitis.
abstract: Identification of an HLA-G 14-bp Insertion/Deletion (Ins/Del) polymorphism at the 3' untranslated region of HLA-G revealed its importance in HLA-G mRNA stability and HLA-G protein level variation. We evaluated the association between the HLA-G 14-bp Ins/Del polymorphism in patients with chronic Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in a case-control study. Genomic DNA was extracted from 263 patients with chronic HBV hepatitis and 246 control subjects and was examined for the HLA-G 14-bp Ins/Del polymorphism by PCR. The polymorphic variants were genotyped in chronic HBV seropositive cases stratified according to HBV DNA levels, fibrosis stages and in a control population. There was no statistical significant association between the 14-bp Ins/Del polymorphism and increased susceptibility to HBV infection neither for alleles (P = 0.09) nor for genotypes (P = 0.18). The stratification of HBV patients based on HBV DNA levels revealed an association between the 14-bp Ins/Del polymorphism and an enhanced HBV activity with high HBV DNA levels. In particular, the Ins allele was significantly associated with high HBV DNA levels (P = 0.0024, OR = 1.71, 95% CI 1.2-2.4). The genotype Ins/Ins was associated with a 2.5-fold (95% CI, 1.29-4.88) increased risk of susceptibility to high HBV replication compared with the Del/Del and Ins/Del genotypes. This susceptibility is linked to the presence of two Ins alleles. No association was observed between the 14-bp Ins/Del polymorphism and fibrosis stage of HBV infection. We observed an association between the 14-bp Ins/Del polymorphism and high HBV replication characterized by high HBV DNA levels in chronic HBV patients. These results suggest a potential prognostic value for disease outcome evaluation.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Microorganisms and Active Biomolecules, Sciences Faculty of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia.|Laboratory of Microbiology-Immunology, UR02SP13, University Hospital Farhat Hached, Sousse, Tunisia.
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Laaribi
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Microorganisms and Active Biomolecules, Sciences Faculty of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zidi
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbiology-Immunology, UR02SP13, University Hospital Farhat Hached, Sousse, Tunisia.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hannachi
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Microorganisms and Active Biomolecules, Sciences Faculty of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ben Yahia
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Farhat Hached, Sousse, Tunisia.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chaouch
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental and Diagnostic Medicine, Section Microbiology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bortolotti
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medcine Ibn Al Jazzar, University of Sousse, Sousse, Tunisia.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zidi
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Farhat Hached, Sousse, Tunisia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Letaief
authors.affiliation: Regional Center of Blood Transfusion, University Hospital Farhat Hached, Sousse, Tunisia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yacoub
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Microorganisms and Active Biomolecules, Sciences Faculty of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boudabous
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental and Diagnostic Medicine, Section Microbiology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rizzo
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbiology-Immunology, UR02SP13, University Hospital Farhat Hached, Sousse, Tunisia.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Boukadida
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D059951:HLA-G Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000502:physiology*; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D054643:INDEL Mutation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D019562:Viral Load; D014779:Virus Replication; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D059951:HLA-G Antigens
keywords: HLA-G; HLA-G 14-bp Insertion/Deletion; association study; chronic hepatitis; fibrosis; hepatitis B virus