interleukin-6 gene (-174 g>c) polymorphisms in patients with chronic hepatitis c virus; a case-control study

Background: recent studies have suggested that polymorphisms in the interleukin (il)-6 gene promoter might be linked to chronic hepatitis c virus (hcv) infection, potentially affecting the infection's outcome. objectives: the purpose of this study was to determine whether the genetic variant of il-6 gene polymorphisms (-174 g>c) is associated with hcv in patients compared to control subjects. methods: seventy-one patients infected with hcv and 79 healthy individuals referred to a hepatitis clinic in mashhad, northeast iran, were enrolled in the study. blood samples were collected, and laboratory tests, including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) for hcv antibodies and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rt-pcr) for confirming hcv-positive results, were conducted. genomic dna was extracted from whole blood, and the arms-pcr method was used for genotyping the il-6 gene polymorphisms (-174 g>c). statistical analyses were performed using spss version 21 software. results: the c allele was found to be more frequent in hcv-infected patients compared to controls (p < 0.05; odds ratio [or] = 2.91, 95% ci: 1.85 - 3.16), but this association was not significant after adjusting for confounders. additionally, in a recessive model analysis (cc vs. gg + gc), the cc genotype was more prevalent among hcv-infected patients than in healthy individuals, though not significantly (p = 0.21; or = 2.91, 95% ci: 0.55 - 15.53). the gg polymorphism was the most common genotype in both groups (p = 0.44), while the cc genotype was the least common (p = 0.12). conclusions: the il-6 gene polymorphism at this position may impart a certain level of risk for hcv infection, with carriers of the c allele potentially more susceptible to this infection. however, to further elucidate the role of this polymorphism in hcv, a larger cohort of hcv-infected patients and healthy individuals may be required.