Interleukin-6-174 promoter polymorphism and susceptibility to hepatitis B virus infection in Javanese individuals

Hepatitis B virus infection is a significant risk factor for cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Interleukin-6, a cytokine with broad pleiotropic actions, plays important role in cellular and humoral immune responses to viral infection. The -174 G/C polymorphisms of interleukin-6 is a frequent polymorphism and may determine the outcome of viral infection. To find out the genetic association between the -174 G/C polymorphism and susceptibility to hepatitis B virus infection in Javanese individuals, blood samples from Javanese hepatitis B virus-infected individuals and from Javanese healthy individuals confirmed by serological and molecular assays were evaluated. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood and the sequence specific primer-polymerase chain reaction method was applied for genotyping. The frequencies of genotypes C/C, C/G and G/G in hepatitis B virus-infected samples were 5.3%, 31.6%, 63.1% and in controls were 20%, 38%, and 42%, respectively. The frequencies of G allele in hepatitis B virus-infected samples was higher than that of healthy samples (OR 2.4, 95%CI: 1.289-4.459, p = 0.0057). These findings suggest that the G allele was associated with susceptibility to hepatitis B virus infection in Javanese individuals.