Vitamin D receptor gene associations with pulmonary tuberculosis in a Tibetan Chinese population

BACKGROUND: The vitamin D receptor (VDR) mediates the immunological function of vitamin D3, which activates macrophages, and vitamin D deficiency has been linked to tuberculosis risk. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in VDR may influence the function of vitamin D and susceptibility to tuberculosis. METHODS: This study included 217 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and 383 healthy subjects in a Tibetan Chinese population living in and near Xi’an. Association analyses of SNPs in VDR were performed with the SPSS 17.0 statistical packages, SNP stats software, Haploview software package (version 4.2), and the SHEsis software platform. RESULTS: Our results revealed a correlation between three SNPs (rs11574143, odds ratio [OR]: 1.47, 95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.11 - 1.94, p = 0.006, p-adjust = 0.030; rs11574079, OR: 0.48, 95 % CI: 0.25 - 0.92, p = 0.023, p-adjust = 0.115; rs11168287, OR: 2.55, 95 % CI: 2.00 - 3.25, p = 1.730E-14, p-adjust = 0.865E-13) and PTB based on Chi-square tests. We observed the allele “A” of rs11574143 and rs11168287 increased the PTB risk and the allele “A” of rs11574079 provided a protective effect against PTB. CONCLUSIONS: The goal of this study was the identification of putative associations between five SNPs (rs11574143, rs7975232, rs11574079, rs3819545 and rs11168287) in VDR and susceptibility to PTB. Our findings demonstrated associations between VDR polymorphisms and PTB development.