Lack of association between interleukin 28B polymorphisms and spontaneous viral clearance in hepatitis B virus patients

Review of Lambda Interferons in Hepatitis B Virus Infection: Outcomes and Therapeutic Strategies

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) chronically infects over 250 million people worldwide and causes nearly 1 million deaths per year due to cirrhosis and liver cancer. Approved treatments for chronic infection include injectable type-I interferons and nucleos(t)ide reverse transcriptase inhibitors. A small minority of patients achieve seroclearance after treatment with type-I interferons, defined as sustained absence of detectable HBV DNA and surface antigen (HBsAg) antigenemia. However, type-I interferons cause significant side effects, are costly, must be administered for months, and most patients have viral rebound or non-response. Nucleos(t)ide reverse transcriptase inhibitors reduce HBV viral load and improve liver-related outcomes, but do not lower HBsAg levels or impart seroclearance. Thus, new therapeutics are urgently needed. Lambda interferons (IFNLs) have been tested as an alternative strategy to stimulate host antiviral pathways to treat HBV infection. IFNLs comprise an evolutionarily conserved innate immune pathway and have cell-type specific activity on hepatocytes, other epithelial cells found at mucosal surfaces, and some immune cells due to restricted cellular expression of the IFNL receptor. This article will review work that examined expression of IFNLs during acute and chronic HBV infection, the impact of IFNLs on HBV replication in vitro and in vivo, the association of polymorphisms in IFNL genes with clinical outcomes, and the therapeutic evaluation of IFNLs for the treatment of chronic HBV infection.

Lack of Association between IFNL3 Polymorphism and Human Papillomavirus Infection and Their Progression in HIV-Infected Women Receiving Antiretroviral Treatment

BACKGROUND

It has been reported that interferon-λ3 (IFNL3)might influence the pathogenesis and clearance of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. The impact of IFNL3 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on HPV infection is currently unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between variants in the IFNL3 region and HPV infection in women with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.

METHODS

A total of 236 HIV patients, including 65 HPV-negative and 171 HPV DNA-positive women, were enrolled into this study. The IFNL3 rs12979860 polymorphism was genotyped using a predesigned TaqMan SNP genotyping assay.

RESULTS

Data showed no significant differences in genotypes or allele frequencies between the HPV DNA-positive and the HPV-negative women (p > 0.05). After dividing the HPV-positive women according to cytology results into patients with abnormal and normal lesions, the genotype and allele distribution of the SNP did not significantly differ between the 2 groups (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results showed that the IFNL3 rs12979860 polymorphism is not a major determinant of the susceptibility to HPV infection and their progression to abnormal cervical lesions in women living with HIV.

Multiple genetic variants associated with posttransplantation diabetes mellitus in Chinese Han populations

OBJECTIVES

Posttransplantation diabetes mellitus (PTDM) is a major complication after solid organ transplantation. This study is to investigate the association of nine genetic variant factors and PTDM in Chinese Han patients.

METHODS

HLA-DP (rs3077, rs9277535), HLA-DQ (rs7453920), signal transducer and activator of transcription 4 (STAT4) (rs7574865), IL-28B (rs12979860, rs8099917, and rs12980275), and IL-18 (rs1946518 and rs187238) were investigated in 260 liver transplant recipients (PTDM vs non-PTDM) by high-resolution melting curve analysis. Serum interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-17, interferon-γ, inducible protein-10, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, and macrophage inflammatory protein-1b were analyzed by a Bio-Plex suspension array system (Bio-Plex Multiplex Immunoassays, Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA, USA).

RESULTS

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 4 (rs7574865) T allele and IL-18 (rs1946518) A allele increase the risk for insulin resistance and PTDM.

CONCLUSIONS

Recipients with STAT4 (rs7574865) T allele are associated with an increased concentration of IL-1β, interferon-γ, monocyte chemoattractant protein, and macrophage inflammatory protein-1b. The genetic variants of STAT4 (rs7574865) and IL-18 (rs1946518) may be new important markers for PTDM.

Association of HLA-DP/DQ, STAT4 and IL-28B variants with HBV viral clearance in Tibetans and Uygurs in China

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Several genome-wide association studies have revealed that HLA-DP/DQ, STAT4 and IL-28B associated with liver diseases. But because of population heterogeneity, different races would have different causative polymorphisms. Therefore, in this study, we included Chinese Tibetans and Uygurs to examine the roles of these genes on HBV natural clearance.

METHODS

A total of 1341 subjects including 908 Tibetans and 433 Uygurs were recruited. Seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were genotyped.

RESULTS

HLA-DP/DQ polymorphisms associated with HBV natural clearance in both ethnicities (Tibetans, rs3077, OR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.46-0.82; rs9277535, OR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.41-0.75; rs7453920, OR = 0.64, 95%CI = 0.47-0.85; Uygurs, rs3077, OR = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.24-0.96; rs9277535, OR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.20-0.91; rs7453920, OR = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.39-0.99), whereas no significant association was observed between IL-28B with HBV natural clearance in neither ethnicities (P > 0.05). STAT4 rs7574865 seemed to be Tibetan specific in HBV natural clearance (OR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.58-0.99). Moreover, in Tibetan patients, HLA-DQ rs7453920 GG had a higher frequency in HBeAg positive patients (P = 0.032) and STAT4 rs7574865 GG genotype appeared more frequently in Genotype C virus infected patients (P = 0.005). In addition, Uygurs have higher frequencies of HLA-DP/DQ protective alleles (72.5% for rs3077, 76.6% for rs9277535 and 26.8% for rs7453920) than Tibetans (51.7% for rs3077, 52.5% for rs9277535 and 18.5% for rs7453920)(all P < 0.05), and a lower prevalence of HBV infection as previously reported.

CONCLUSIONS

HLA-DP/DQ but not IL-28B polymorphisms correlate with HBV natural clearance, irrespective of race, and HLA-DP/DQ would be causative genes attributing to varying prevalence in different regions. STAT4 rs7574865 seemed to be population specific in Tibetans and it might synergistically interact with virus contributing to disease progression.

Interferon lambda genetic polymorphisms and viral infection: the tip of the iceberg?

Pathogen-host interaction studies have demonstrated the importance of host factors in the pathogenesis of infectious disease. An emerging theme is that polymorphisms in the genes encoding these factors can influence the host response to infection and the course of disease. Genetic variation affecting interferon lambda (IFN-λ) expression is now known to influence the outcome of both hepatitis C virus and herpes simplex virus type 1 infection in humans. IFN-λ is expressed at higher levels in organs with high epithelial cell content such as the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts. Interestingly, data from animal models show that IFN-λ contributes to host control of viruses infecting these sites, including influenza A virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, and rotavirus. Furthermore, defective IFN-λ production by humans with asthma impairs the control of rhinovirus infection. We hypothesize that genetic variation of IFN-λ could potentially influence the course of disease during infection with many viruses that infect epithelial cells.