Relationships between tumour necrosis factor-a, interleukin-12B and interleukin-10 gene polymorphisms and hepatitis B in Chinese Han haemodialysis patients

Aim: To investigate the possible association of gene polymorphisms of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-a (-238 and -308), interleukin (IL)-10 (-592 and -819) and 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) of the IL12B (-1188) and hepatitis B in Chinese Han haemodialysis (HD) patients. Methods: The genotyping of TNF-alpha -238 and -308, IL-10 -592 and -819 and 3'UTR of the IL12B were performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method. Results: The TNF-alpha-238 A allele, the IL12B 3' UTR C/C, C/A genotypes were associated with decreased susceptibility to hepatitis B viral infection (P = 0.047, P = 0.003 and P = 0.001 respectively). The frequencies of IL-10-592 A/A genotype, IL-10-819 T/T genotype were lower in the HBV persistence group (P = 0.029 and P = 0.019) than those in the virus clearance group. Conclusions: TNF-alpha and IL12B 3'UTR gene polymorphismsmay be associated with HBV susceptibility and IL-10 gene polymorphisms may be related to the HBV persistence infection in Chinese Han HD patients.