Association between IL28B Polymorphisms and Outcomes of Hepatitis B Virus Infection: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Interleukin (IL) 28B polymorphisms encoding pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines trigger diverse clinical outcome of hepatitis virus infection. However, there is controversy concerning the association of IL28B polymorphisms with the outcome of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, with several studies obtaining inconsistent results. We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the role of 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs12979860, rs12980275 and rs8099917 in the progression of HBV infection, overall and by ethnicity. METHODS: Searched PubMed, Embase and Wiley Online Library electronic databases using ‘interleukin 28B’, ‘IL 28B’, ‘IL 28B polymorphism’, ‘hepatitis B virus’, ‘HBV’, and performed meta- analysis for rs12979860, rs12980275 and rs8099917 in Asian and Caucasian populations under the dominant recessive and allele model. RESULTS: Eighteen studies were found in total and used for this meta-analysis, including 5587 cases and 4295 controls. The IL28B polymorphism rs12979860 had no association with HBV persistence (CC vs CT + TT: OR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.76–1.00; TT vs CT + CC: OR = 1.14, 95% CI = 0.76–1.70; T vs C: OR = 1.03, 95% CI = 0.94–1.13). Similarly, neither rs12980275 nor rs8099917 had associations with HBV persistence (rs12980275 in AA vs AG + AA: OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 0.96–1.38; rs8099917 in TT vs GT + GG: OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 0.96–1.39). There was also no significant association of IL28B polymorphisms with persistent HBV infection in Asians or Chinese. There was no evidence of an association of rs12979860 with the HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma susceptibility (T vs C: OR = 1.53, 95% CI = 0.96–2.43). CONCLUSION: IL28B polymorphisms had no association with the outcome of HBV infection overall, nor in the Asians and the Chinese. These 3 SNPs might not be relevant to the development of HBV infection.