Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection causes large amount of unfolding or false-folding protein accumulation in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), which in turn induces the expression of glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78). The aim in the present study was to analyse the potential association between GRP78 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the risk of HBV infection.
Methods: The associations between seven common GRP78 polymorphisms in the promoter (rs391957, rs17840762, rs17840761, rs11355458) and in the 3' untranslated region (UTR) (rs16927997, rs1140763, rs12009) and possible risk of chronic HBV infection were assessed in a case-control study. 496 cases and 539 individually matched healthy controls were genotyped.
Results: Overall, no associations were observed in genotypic analyses. In addition, haplotypes and diplotypes combining those SNPs in the promoter or in the 3' UTR in high linkage disequilibrium (LD) were also not associated with HBV risk.
Conclusion: These observations do not support a role for GRP78 polymorphisms in HBV infection in a predominantly Chinese Han population.