tm6sf2 rs58542926 polymorphism is not associated with risk of steatosis or fibrosis in chilean patients with chronic hepatitis c

Background: the polymorphism rs58542926 c > t (e167k) in the gene of transmembrane 6 superfamily member 2 (tm6sf2) has been identified as a determinant of hepatic steatosis and fibrosis in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. only limited data have been published on this subject in chronic hepatitis c (chc). objectives: this study aimed to evaluate the effect of tm6sf2 rs58542926 polymorphism on the risk of liver steatosis and fibrosis in chilean patients with chc infection. methods: a total of 153 biopsied chc patients were genotyped for tm6sf2 rs58542926 using pcr-rflp methodology. the risk of fatty liver was assessed by comparing absence (< 5 %) with presence (≥ 5 %) of steatosis. the association with fibrosis was evaluated according to metavir score, by comparing patients in stage f0, f1, or f2 with patients in stage f3 or f4. results: tm6sf2 rs58542926 genotype cc was found in 138 (90.2%) patients, whereas genotypes ct was found in 15 (9.8 %). no association was observed between rs58542926 genotype and risk of steatosis (or 0.62, 95% ci 0.17 - 2.22, p = 0.459) or fibrosis (or 1.07, 95% ci 0.29 - 3.87, p = 0.923). conclusions: tm6sf2 rs58542926 polymorphism is not associated with the risk of liver steatosis or fibrosis in chilean patients with chc.