Missense Variant rs34562254 of TNFRSF13B associated with HCV infection outcomes among Chinese Han Population

Background: In this study we investigated the relationship of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily ( TNFSF ) 13, and receptor superfamily (TNFRSF) 13B missense mutations with the susceptibility of HCV infection. Methods: : Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in TNFSF13 (rs3803800, rs11552708), and TNFRSF13B (rs34562254) were genotyped in 469 intravenous drug users, 728 hemodialysis patients and 1636 paid blood donors by TaqMan real-time PCR assay. Results: : After adjustment for gender, age, ALT level, AST level and route of infection, the results of logistic regression analysis showed that the subjects carried rs34562254 TT mutant homozygous type in TNFRSF13B were more likely to be infected by HCV compared to those with rs34562254 CC wild homozygous type (additive model: OR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.07-1.37, P = 0.002). And the effect of the risk allele (rs34562254-T) is more evident in female, elder (≥50), paid blood donors, lower ALT level (≤40 U/L) and lower ALT level (≤40 U/L) subgroup. The minimum free energy (MFE) of the centroid secondary structure for the mutant T allele of rs34562254 was higher than that of the wild C allele (-38.90 vs. -45.60 kcal/mol) with the RNAfold web servers. Conclusions: : Taken together our study suggest that the missense variant rs34562254 were significantly associated with HCV infection by impacting host the TNFRSF13B gene transcription level among Chinese Han population.