Association of Genetic Polymorphisms With Hepatitis C Virus-related Liver Cirrhosis in Japan

In Vivo. 2020 Nov-Dec;34(6):3309-3313. doi: 10.21873/invivo.12169.

Abstract

Background/aim: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is an important health problem in the direct-acting antivirals-era. HCV causes life-threatening diseases, such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Our aim was to examine whether certain single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are associated with the prevalence of HCV infections progressing to cirrhosis in the Japanese population by a genome-wide association study-based approach.

Materials and methods: We used DNA extracted from blood specimens of Japanese subjects with the establishment of the BioBank Japan project.

Results: We observed statistically significant differences in the frequency of 4 SNPs (rs1989972, rs2293766, rs1877033 and rs4805439) between anti-HCV-positive cirrhotic patients and controls.

Conclusion: Four SNPs are associated with susceptibility to cirrhosis among HCV-infected Japanese subjects, while further studies with cohorts other than those sourced from BioBank Japan, must be conducted.

Keywords: BioBank Japan; GWAS; HCV; SNP; TGFBI.

MeSH terms

  • Antiviral Agents / therapeutic use
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* / drug therapy
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* / epidemiology
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* / genetics
  • Genome-Wide Association Study
  • Hepacivirus / genetics
  • Hepatitis C* / complications
  • Hepatitis C* / epidemiology
  • Hepatitis C* / genetics
  • Hepatitis C, Chronic* / drug therapy
  • Humans
  • Japan / epidemiology
  • Liver Cirrhosis / drug therapy
  • Liver Cirrhosis / epidemiology
  • Liver Cirrhosis / genetics
  • Liver Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

Substances

  • Antiviral Agents