FAS and FASL gene polymorphisms are not associated with hepatitis B virus infection based on a case-control study in a Brazilian population.

Objective: This study investigated the association of the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the FAS and FASL genes with the outcome of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.

Methods: Blood samples were collected from 116 HBV-infected patients at the Hospital of the Santa Casa de Misericordia Foundation (Belém, PA, Brazil). Seronegative individuals were used as controls. DNA samples were extracted from the leukocytes and assayed using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by RFLP analysis with restriction endonucleases.

Results: The frequencies of the mutant genotypes for -670FAS (GG), Ivs2nt-124FASL (GG), Ivs3nt-169FASL (ΔT/ΔT), and -844FASL (TT) were higher in the HBV patients, and the FAS-1377AA genotype was more frequent in the control group; however, the differences between the allele and genotype frequencies were not statistically significant. When the HBV patient population was divided into two groups (inactive carriers and active chronic hepatitis patients), the mutant genotypes were found to be more prevalent in the active chronic hepatitis group with respect to the FAS gene polymorphisms; however, this difference was not statistically significant.

Conclusions: The results suggest that the polymorphisms in FAS and FASL genes are not associated with HBV infection or even with the natural history of the infection in the Brazilian Amazon region.