Association of Genetic Polymorphisms with Hepatitis C Virus-related Liver Cirrhosis in Japan

Abstract

Background/Aim: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is an important health problem in the direct-acting antivirals-era. HCV causes life-threatening diseases, such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Our aim was to examine whether certain single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are associated with the prevalence of HCV infections progressing to cirrhosis in the Japanese population by a genome-wide association study-based approach. Materials and Methods: We used DNA extracted from blood specimens of Japanese subjects with the establishment of the BioBank Japan project. Results: We observed statistically significant differences in the frequency of 4 SNPs (rs1989972, rs2293766, rs1877033 and rs4805439) between anti-HCV-positive cirrhotic patients and controls. Conclusion: Four SNPs are associated with susceptibility to cirrhosis among HCV-infected Japanese subjects, while further studies with cohorts other than those sourced from BioBank Japan, must be conducted.