Autoimmune Hepatitis Association With Single Nucleotide Polymorphism of Interleukin-2, But Not Interferon-Gamma Publisher Pubmed



Yousefi A¹ ; Mahmoudi E² ; Baradaran Noveiry B^{3, 4} ; Zare Bidoki A⁵ ; Sadr M² ; Motamed F¹ ; Najafi M¹ ; Farahmand F¹ ; Khodadad A¹ ; Fallahi GH¹ ; Rezaei N^{5, 6, 7}
Source: Clinics and Research in Hepatology and Gastroenterology Published:2018

Abstract

Background: Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic inflammation in hepatocellular tissues associated with circulating autoantibodies. Imbalance in T-cells population and dysregulation in several cytokine profiles has been implicated in pathogenesis of AIH. This study was performed to assess potential association of AIH with interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) genes single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Methods: Fifty-six patients with AIH and 139 healthy individuals were enrolled in this study. IL-2 and IFN-γ typing was performed, using polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP) assay. The frequencies of alleles, genotypes and haplotypes in AIH patients were compared to healthy controls. Results: IL-2 T allele at position +166 (rs2069763) showed significant higher frequency in AIH group (36%), compared to the controls (21%) (OR = 2.06; 95% CI, 1.24–3.43, P-value < 0.01). The frequency of IL-2 TT genotype at +166 position was also associated with AIH (OR = 18.68, 95% CI 3.74–126.04, P-value < 0.01). G/T alleles of IL-2 at −330 (rs2069762) and A/T alleles on UTR +5644 position at IFN-γ and their subsequent haplotypes, did not show significant association with AIH. Conclusions: This study identified IL-2 T allele at +166 position and TT genotype as susceptibility gene in AIH which would provide better understandings into the mechanisms of AIH and potential immune modulation therapies. © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS