Association between the CD209 promoter-336A/G polymorphism and susceptibility to tuberculosis: A meta-analysis

Background and objective: Dendritic cell-specific intracellular adhesion molecule-3 grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN), encoded by the CD209 gene, is a major Mycobacterium tuberculosis receptor on human dendritic cells. The potentially functional -336A/G polymorphism in the CD209 promoter region has been associated with susceptibility to tuberculosis (TB), but the results have been inconclusive. We performed a meta-analysis to clarify the relationship between the CD209-336A/G variant and the risk of TB. Methods: Ten studies involving a total of 2598 TB patients and 2614 control subjects were systematically reviewed, and the data were quantitatively synthesized by meta-analysis. The Q-test was applied to assess the heterogeneity of associations among the studies, and Egger's regression test was used to assess potential publication bias. Results: No significant association was identified between the CD209-336A/G polymorphism and risk of TB (G allele vs A allele: odds ratio (OR) 1.02, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.901.15). Moreover, no significant association was observed in populations of African ethnicity (OR 1.01, 95% CI 0.871.17) or among individuals who were negative for the human immunodeficiency virus (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.841.15). Conclusions: This meta-analysis has indicated that the CD209-336A/G polymorphism may not contribute to susceptibility to TB.