The Study of IFNL3 Gene Rs12979860 Polymorphism in the Hepatitis C Virus Patients and Healthy Population in Tehran Province, Iran

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can lead to a number of disorders and subsequent failures, including chronic liver disease and cancer. Genotype rs12979860 CC is an interleukin 28B gene polymorphism associated with an adequate response to treatment in HCV patients. However, its response quality varies in different races and populations.

The present study aimed to investigate this polymorphism in the Iranian population.

In this study, 120 volunteers were evaluated as patient subjects and 120 volunteers as the control subject group. The collected serum samples were examined by the PCR-RFLP technique and the frequency of polymorphism at rs12979860 was tested in both groups.

The findings of this study showed that the risk of HCV infection in the subjects with CC genotype of IL-28B gene was less than (OR = 2.000, P = 0.009) that of subjects with other genotypes of rs12979860 polymorphism, including CT and TT. The frequency of genotypic variations of rs12979860 gene in patients were as CC = 33.3%, CT = 43.3%, TT = 23.3%, and in healthy subjects accorded with CC = 50%, CT = 32%, TT = 17%. A significant difference was also observed between the two healthy and HCV suffering groups in terms of gender (P < 0.02).

In HCV patients, the frequency of CC variation in IL-28B rs12979860 gene leads to a more effective response to treatment than other genotypes in HCV patients. Also, the frequency of CC in healthy people was higher than patients.