interleukin 28b genetic polymorphism and spontaneous recovery from hepatitis b virus infection in an iranian azeri population

Background: detection of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (snps) near the interleukin 28b (il28b) gene, which significantly effects the outcome of chronic hepatitis c virus has a substantial impact on research in the field of personalize medicine. in this study, the researchers investigated the influence of il28b polymorphisms on spontaneous recovery from hepatitis b (hbv) infection in an iranian sample. methods: in this case-control study, 177 patients with chronic hbv infection (n = 83, hbsag (+) for > 6 months, anti-hbc (+), and anti-hbs (-)) or spontaneous recovery (n = 94; hbsag (-), anti-hbc (+), and anti-hbs (+)) were evaluated. all cases were iranian with an azeri ethnic background. the snps at rs12979860and rs8099917 near il28b coding region were assessed by polymerase chain reactionrestriction fragment length polymorphism (pcr-rflp). results: regardless of the condition for hbv infection, rs8099917 tt was most frequently identified (65.0%) followed by rs12979860 ct (52.5%). all other genotypes were detected as well as all types of haplotype combinations, except for rs8099917 gt- rs12979860 cc, which was not identified in any participant. the prevalence of tt rs8099917 was significantly higher in the chronichbvgroup than in the spontaneously recovered individuals (p = 0.038, or = 1.435). differences were not significant for rs12979860. using combination of genotypes did not show better odds ratio (p > 0.05). conclusions: the snp upstream of il28b might have an influence on spontaneous hbv recovery.