AI Article Synopsis

  • Researchers studied how variations in the TLR5 gene, which is involved in the immune response to bacteria, might influence the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in people with liver disease.
  • They analyzed genetic data from various groups, including healthy individuals and patients with alcohol-related liver damage, finding that a specific variant (TT genotype) was more common in those with HCC compared to those without.
  • The study concluded that this genetic variant is associated with an increased risk of HCC in patients with cirrhosis, particularly in those with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Article Abstract

Background & Aims: Bacterial translocation drives liver disease progression. We investigated whether functional genetic variants in toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5), the receptor for bacterial flagellin, affect the risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: Healthy controls (n = 212), patients with alcohol abuse without liver disease (n = 382), and patients from a discovery cohort of alcohol-associated cirrhosis (n = 372 including 79 HCC cases), a validation cohort of alcohol-associated cirrhosis (n = 355 including 132 HCC cases), and a cohort of cirrhosis due to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) (n = 145 including 62 HCC cases) were genotyped for the TLR5 rs5744174 and rs5744168 polymorphisms. Chemokine levels were measured by ELISA in patients' sera and supernatants of flagellin-stimulated healthy monocytes.

Results: Frequency of the TLR5 rs5744174 TT genotype was similar in healthy controls (33%), controls with alcohol abuse (34%), and patients with alcohol-associated cirrhosis in the discovery (28%), validation (33%), and NASH cohort (31%). The TT genotype was enriched in patients with versus without HCC in the discovery, validation, and NASH cohort (41% vs 25%; 39% vs 29%; 40% vs 24%; p < .05 each). This genotype remained a risk factor for HCC (OR = 1.9; p = .01) after multivariate correction for age, gender, diabetes, and carriage of the PNPLA3 148M variant. Interleukin-8 induction in monocytes from healthy controls and serum levels of interleukin-8 and CXCL1 from cirrhotic patients with the TT genotype were significantly increased versus C allele carriers.

Conclusion: The TLR5 rs5744174 polymorphism, affecting immune response to flagellin, is linked to occurrence of HCC in cirrhosis caused by steatohepatitis.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/liv.14980DOI Listing

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