ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the correlation of interferon (IFN) -γ rs2430561 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and serum IFN-γ levels with susceptibility to herpes zoster.Methods:Blood samples were collected from 74 patients with herpes zoster and 40 healthy controls in General Hospital of Southern Theatre Command and the Fifth People Hospital of Hainan Province from November 2019 to November 2020. PCR and Sagner resequencing were conducted to detect the IFN-γ rs2430561 SNPs in the subjects, fluorescence-based quantitative PCR was performed to determine the copy number of varicella-herpes zoster virus (VZV) DNA in the serum of the patients with herpes zoster, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was conducted to detect the serum IFN-γ level. Measurement data were compared by using t test or non-parametric test, and enumeration data by using chi-square test or Fisher′s exact test. Results:As rs2430561 genotyping showed, there were 4 patients with AA genotype, 37 with TT genotype and 33 with TA genotype in the herpes zoster group, as well as 13 subjects with TA genotype and 27 with TT genotype in the healthy control group, and the frequency of A allele of rs2430561 was significantly higher in the herpes zoster group (27.70%) than in the control group (16.25%, P=0.036) . The serum IFN-γ level ( M[ P25, P75]) was significantly lower in the herpes zoster group (33.45[0.80, 95.01]pg/ml) than in the control group (67.83[2.74, 318.35]pg/ml, U=1 822, P=0.028) . The VZV DNA copy number (expressed as a logarithm to the base of 10) per milliliter was 3.23 ± 0.71 in the serum of the patients with herpes zoster, and the serum IFN-γ level was negatively correlated with the VZV DNA copy number ( r=-0.302, P=0.009) . Conclusion:The carriage of rs2430561 A allele may affect the expression of IFN-γ, leading to higher susceptibility to herpes zoster.