Apolipoprotein C3(-455T>C) polymorphism confers susceptibility to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in the Southern Han Chinese population

AIM:To investigate the relationship between Apolipoprotein C3(APOC3)(-455T>C) polymorphism and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD) in the Southern Chinese han population.METHODS:In this prospective case-control study,we recruited 300 NAFLD patients and 300 healthy controls to a cohort representing Southern Chinese han population at The First Affiliated Hospital,Sun Yat-sen University,from January to December 2012. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and DNA sequencing were used to genotype the APOC3(-455T>C) variants.RESULTS:After adjusting for age,gender,and bodymass index,TC and CC genotypes were found to increase the susceptibility to NAFLD compared to the TT genotype,with adjusted odds ratios(ORs) of 1.77(95%CI:1.16-2.72) and 2.80(95%CI:1.64-4.79),respectively. Further stratification analysis indicated that carriers of the CC genotype was more susceptible to insulin resistance(IR) than those of the TT genotype,with an OR of 3.24(95%CI:1.52-6.92). The CC genotype also was associated with a significantly higher risk of hypertension,hypertriglyceridemia,and low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(hDL)(P < 0.05). No association was found between the APOC3(-455T>C) polymorphism and obesity,impaired glucose tolerance,hyperuricemia,hypercholesterolemia,or high levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL)(P > 0.05).CONCLUSION:APOC3(-455T>C) genetic variation is involved in the susceptibility to developing NAFLD,IR,hypertension,hypertriglyceridemia,and low hDL in the Southern Chinese han population.

Association of keratin 8/18 variants with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and insulin resistance in Chinese patients: A case-control study

AIM To test the hypothesis that K8/K18 variants predispose humans to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD) progression and its metabolic phenotypes. METHODS We selected a total of 373 unrelated adult subjects from our Physical Examination Department, including 200 unrelated NAFLD patients and 173 controls of both genders and different ages. Diagnoses of NAFLD were established according to ultrasonic signs of fatty liver. All subjects were tested for population characteristics, lipid profile, liver tests, as well as glucose tests. Genomic DNA was obtained from peripheral blood with a DNeasy Tissue Kit. K8/K18 coding regions were analyzed, including 15 exons and exon-intron boundaries. RESULTS Among 200 NAFLD patients, 10(5%) heterozygouscarriers of keratin variants were identified. There were 5 amino-acid-altering heterozygous variants and 6 non-coding heterozygous variants. One novel aminoacid-altering heterozygous variant(K18 N193S) and three novel non-coding variants were observed(K8 IVS5-9A→G, K8 IVS6+19G→A, K18 T195T). A total of 9 patients had a single variant and 1 patient had compound variants(K18 N193S+K8 IVS3-15C→G). Only one R341 H variant was found in the control group(1 of 173, 0.58%). The frequency of keratin variants in NAFLD patients was significantly higher than that in the control group(5% vs 0.58%, P = 0.015). Notably, the keratin variants were significantly associated with insulin resistance(IR) in NAFLD patients(8.86% in NAFLD patients with IR vs 2.5% in NAFLD patients without IR, P = 0.043).CONCLUSION K8/K18 variants are overrepresented in Chinese NAFLD patients and might accelerate liver fat storage through IR.

Interleukin-21 gene polymorphisms and chronic hepatitis B infection in a Chinese population

AIM: To investigate the relationship between inter-leukin-21(IL21) gene polymorphisms and chronic hepatitis B virus(HBV) infection in a Chinese population.METHODS: In this case-control study, 366 Chinese HBV-infected patients were recruited and divided into hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC; n = 94) and non-HCC(n = 272) groups at The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, from April 2009 to December 2012.In the non-HCC group, the patients were classified into three clinical subsets, 76 patients had chronic hepatitis B, 101 were HBV carriers and 95 patients had HBV-related cirrhosis.Two hundred eight unrelated healthy controls were also included.Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood.Single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs) rs13143866, rs2221903, and rs907715 were subsequently genotyped using the SNaP shot SNP technique.RESULTS: There were no significant differences in allele and genotype frequencies of SNPs rs13143866, rs2221903, and rs907715 between chronic HBVinfected patients and control subjects.Furthermore, no significant differences were found in the frequencies of all alleles and genotypes between the HCC group and the non-HCC group.However, in the subgroup analysis, IL21 rs13143866 genotype AA frequency in the HBV carrier group was higher than in controls(OR = 6.280, 95%CI: 1.238-31.854; P = 0.019), and the effect of the recessive model(AA vs GG + GA, OR = 6.505, 95%CI: 1.289-32.828) was observed in the HBV carrier group.IL21 rs2221903 genotype TC frequency in the HBV carrier group was higher than in controls(OR = 1.809, 95%CI: 1.043-3.139; P = 0.035).In the haplotype analysis, the ATA haplotype(rs13143866, rs2221903, and rs907715) of IL21 was more frequent in the HCC group than in the non-HCC group(0.165 vs 0.104, P = 0.044; OR = 1.700, 95%CI: 1.010-2.863).CONCLUSION: Genotypes rs13143866 AA and rs2221903 TC are risk factors for carrying HBV; ATA haplotype increases the risk of HBV-related HCC onsetin a Chinese population.