ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between IL-18 gene polymorphisms and HBV-related diseases and whether these polymorphisms influence its expression in the Guangxi Zhuang population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We enrolled 129 chronic HBV infected (CHB) patients, 86 HBV-related liver cirrhosis (LC) patients and 160 healthy controls in our study. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism methods were used to detect IL-18 gene -607C/A, -137G/C polymorphisms, and an ELISA kit was employed to determine serum IL-18 levels. RESULTS: No correlation was found between the -607C/A polymorphism and risk of HBV-related disease. For the -137G/C polymorphism, the GC genotype and C allele were associated with a significantly lower risk of CHB (95%CI: 0.32-0.95, p=0.034 and 95%CI: 0.35-0.91, p=0.018) and HBV-related LC (95%CI: 0.24-0.89, p=0.022 and 95%CI: 0.28-0.90, p=0.021). A similar decreased risk was also found with the A-607C-137 haplotype. With respect to IL-18 expression, it was significantly lower in both patient groups, but no association was noted between the two polymorphisms in the IL-18 gene and its expression. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicated that the -137C allele in the IL-18 gene may be a protective factor for HBV-related disease, and serum IL-18 level may be inversely associated with CHB and HBV-related LC.
Subject(s)
Biomarkers/analysis , Hepatitis B virus/isolation & purification , Hepatitis B, Chronic/complications , Interleukin-18/blood , Interleukin-18/genetics , Liver Cirrhosis/etiology , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide/genetics , Promoter Regions, Genetic/genetics , Adult , Case-Control Studies , China/epidemiology , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Genetic Predisposition to Disease , Genotype , Haplotypes , Hepatitis B, Chronic/blood , Hepatitis B, Chronic/genetics , Hepatitis B, Chronic/virology , Humans , Liver Cirrhosis/blood , Liver Cirrhosis/epidemiology , Male , Middle Aged , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length , Prognosis , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
PURPOSE: An association between the INS VNTR polymorphisms and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) susceptibility has been reported in previous studies, but the results were inconsistent. This study was conducted to explore this association using meta-analysis. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched according to predefined criteria for all relevant studies published up to August 2013. Four genetic models, together with odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI), were calculated. Subgroup analyses were performed by ethnicity, anovulatory PCOS, and Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) in the controls. RESULTS: In total, 13 case-control studies, including 1,767 cases and 4,108 controls, were included. No significant association was detected in overall population in all models (III/III vs. I/I: OR = 1.200, 95%CI = 0.866-1.664, P=0.277; I/III vs. I/I: OR = 1.041, 95%CI = 0.880-1.232, P=0.637; III/III + I/III vs. I/I: OR = 1.191, 95%CI = 0.912-1.554, P=0.199; III/III vs. I/III + I/I: OR = 1.100, 95%CI = 0.816-1.484, P=0.531), the same as in Caucasian and Asian populations. When the studies were limited to conform to HWE, the results remained persistent and robust. The anovulation subgroup showed significantly elevated risk in the I/III vs. I/I (OR = 1.460, 95%CI = 1.017-2.095, P=0.040). CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis revealed no significant association between INS VNTR polymorphisms and the risk of PCOS in the overall population, while it supported that variance may be associated with susceptibility to PCOS with anovulation. Further confirmation is needed from more well-designed and larger studies.
