AUTHOR=Neamatallah M. , Serria M. S. , El‐Bendary M. , El‐Gilany A.‐H. , Alhawarey A. , Abed S. , Setate Y. A. , Ammar O. A. 

TITLE=Association of Vitamin D Gene Polymorphisms With HCV Infection Outcome

JOURNAL=British Journal of Biomedical Science

VOLUME=79

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontierspartnerships.org/journals/british-journal-of-biomedical-science/articles/10.3389/bjbs.2021.10237

DOI=10.3389/bjbs.2021.10237

ISSN=2474-0896

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> Vitamin D derivatives and their receptor (VDR) are immune-response modulators in many diseases including malignancies, metabolic conditions, and infections. We hypothesized that one or more variants of <italic>VDR</italic> single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in hepatitis C virus (HCV) cirrhotic patients.</p><p><bold>Materials and Methods:</bold> A total of 861 subjects were recruited and classified as spontaneous viral clearance (SVC, <italic>n</italic> = 127), chronic hepatic cirrhosis (CHC, <italic>n</italic> = 392), and HCC (<italic>n</italic> = 342). Standard routine laboratory tests were performed and clinical features noted. All individuals were genotyped for seven SNPs spanning the <italic>VDR</italic> using real-time PCR.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Genotype frequencies of SNPs rs7970376, rs11568820, rs4516035, rs2228570 (Fok1), rs1544410 (Bsm-1), and rs731236 (Taq1), but not rs739837, were variously altered in CHC and HCC compared with SVC, and in HCC compared to CHC (all <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). The most powerful was rs7970376, which brought an OR (95% CI) of 7.14 (4.64–10.98) for HCC compared to SVC (<italic>p</italic> = 0.001). The carriage of the AGTAC haplotype of five SNPs were linked to CHC compared to SVC at OR 2.88 [95% CI 1.2–6.9] (<italic>p</italic> = 0.017) and with HCC compared to CHC at OR 1.54 [95% CI = 1.04–2.27 (<italic>p</italic> = 0.031).</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> SNPs in <italic>VDR</italic> may have a potential role in the outcomes of patients with HCV infection. <italic>VDR</italic> SNPs; rs7970376, rs11568820, rs4516035, rs2228570 (Fok1), rs1544410 (Bsm-1), and rs731236 (Taq1) could be used as molecular markers to predict the risk of HCC.</p>