Strong association of regulatory single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the IFITM3 gene with influenza H1N1 2009 pandemic virus infection

The IFITM3 gene is classified as a member of the small interferonstimulated genes(ISGs)and plays a paramount role in defense against enveloped viruses,including influenza A viruses.1–6 Previous studies have reported that the rs12252 SNP,which is located in the open reading frame(ORF)of the IFITM3 gene,impacts the splicing procedure of protein production,which makes a truncated form of the IFITM3 protein and lowers its antiviral capacity.7–9 In addition,the rs34481144 SNP genotype affects the transcriptional regulation of the IFITM3 gene and IFITM3-neighboring genes and has a potent association with the clinical results of the H1N1 influenza 2009 pandemic in three human cohorts.10 Because several studies have reported that polymorphism of the IFITM3 gene is crucial in the host immune response,fine mapping of and extracting disease-associated SNPs from the human IFITM3 gene are important baseline studies necessary to understand how the IFITM3 protein functions in innate immunity.