A Meta-Analysis of the Association Between Genetic Polymorphisms in IL-12 , IL-17 , and IL-21 and Risk of Hepatitis B Virus Infection.

Cytokine imbalance is an important feature in the occurrence and outcome of hepatitis B virus (HBV). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within cytokine genes may affect the protein expression and eventually contribute to the susceptibility of HBV infection. The association between interleukin (), , or and the risk of HBV infection has been extensively studied, but yielding equivocal results. The aim of this meta-analysis was to determine the impact of SNPs in , , and on the risk of HBV infection. We retrieved studies evaluating whether SNPs in , , and influenced HBV infection from electronic databases, including PUBMED, Web of Science, EBOCO, OVID, and Embase. Summarized odds ratios (ORs) and confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using STATA software. Under a homozygous comparison, the rs568408 was associated with an increased risk of HBV infection in both overall analysis (OR = 1.68, 95% CI, 1.12-2.53) and Caucasians (OR = 1.80, 95% CI, 1.14-2.84). Under a dominant genetic model, the similarly higher risk was also observed in overall analysis (OR = 3.62, 95% CI, 3.08-4.24), Caucasians (OR = 3.29, 95% CI, 2.67-4.05), high-quality studies (OR = 3.29, 95% CI, 2.61-4.14), and low-quality studies (OR = 3.95, 95% CI, 3.17-4.93). Although no significant association was observed between rs2275913 and the risk of HBV infection in overall comparison, subgroup analysis revealed that the rs2275913 AA genotype was associated with a reduced risk in Asians (OR = 0.72, 95% CI, 0.57-0.91) and high-quality studies (OR = 0.71, 95% CI, 0.55-0.92). However, no significant association of rs3212227, rs2275913, rs2221903, and rs907715 with HBV infection was observed. In conclusion, we provide evidence that rs568408 was associated with an increased risk of HBV infection and rs2275913 AA genotype was a protective factor against HBV infection in Asians.