Background: Hepatitis A virus (HAV) receptor (TIM-1) polymorphism plays an important role in asthma and autoimmune diseases. Objective. To analyze the association of TIM-1 polymorphism and HAV infection with childhood allergic asthma in Southwest China.
Methods: TIM-1 exon 4 (157insMTTTVP) and two polymorphism loci, -416G>C and -1454G>A, in the HAV receptor promoter region were studied. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to test the genotypes of three polymorphism loci among 579 cases of asthma and 524 controls. The HAV infection status was determined in a case-control study with stratified analysis.
Results: HAV exposure associated with childhood allergic asthma in the study population was compared with controls (odds ratio (OR) = 0.181, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.126-0.260, p < .001). The -416G>C polymorphism was associated with asthma (OR = 1.384, 95% CI 1.148-1.669, p < .001), but the insertion variant 157delMTTTVP of exon 4 and the -1454G>A polymorphism were not.
Conclusion: Our results indicated that the -416G>C polymorphism of the TIM-1 gene is associated with childhood allergic asthma, providing a better understanding of the pathogenesis of the allergic asthma among children aged below 15 years in Southwest China.