Toll- like receptor 2 polymorphism and IL-6 profile in relation to disease progression in chronic HBV infection: a case control study in Egyptian patients

• Published in: Clinical and experimental medicine Vol. 23; no. 1; pp. 117 - 129
• Main Authors: Elbrolosy, Asmaa M., Elabd, Naglaa S., ElGedawy, Gamalat A., Abozeid, Mai, Abdelkreem, Mervat, Montaser, Belal, Eed, Emad M., Elhamouly, Moamena S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.02.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Case-Control Studies; Chronic infection; Disease Progression; Egypt; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Fibrosis; Gene polymorphism; Hematology; Hepatitis B; Hepatitis B virus; Hepatitis B, Chronic - complications; Humans; Immune response; Interleukin 6; Interleukin-6 - genetics; Internal Medicine; Liver Cirrhosis - complications; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Oncology; Original; Original Article; Polymorphism; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Single-nucleotide polymorphism; TLR2 protein; Toll-Like Receptor 2; Toll-like receptors; Egypt; SNPs; TLR-2; HBV; IL-6
• ISSN: 1591-8890; 1591-9528
• DOI: 10.1007/s10238-022-00792-6

Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) has a wide range of outcomes depending on host immune responses mainly Toll-like receptors (TLRs) signaling and released cytokines. Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) may influence the course of CHB. We aimed to elucidate the relation between TLR-2 polymorphism, IL-6 profile, and CHB progression. We analyzed TLR-2 polymorphism (SNP; rs3804099) in 185 CHB patients and 60 controls using TaqMan allelic discrimination assay. Serum IL-6 levels were assessed by ELISA. IL-6 levels were considerably higher in active CHB and cirrhotic patients compared with inactive carriers and controls ( P  < 0.001). IL-6 showed positive correlation with ALT and advanced fibrosis in active CHB patients (r = 0.31, P  = 0.02). A significant positive correlation was noticed between IL-6 and HBV DNA PCR in all CHB groups. TT genotype of rs3804099/TLR-2 was significantly more prevalent in inactive carriers compared to active hepatitis patients ( P  = 0.04, OR = 0.39 and 95% CI: 0.16–0.95). Both heterozygous CT and mutant TT genotypes were significantly more frequent among inactive carriers compared to cirrhotic patients ( P  = 0.01, OR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.13–0.81 and P  = 0.009, OR = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.13–0.77). TT genotype was significantly related to lower IL-6 levels in active hepatitis and cirrhotic groups ( P  = 0.005 and P  = 0.001, respectively) showing that TLR mutations would be associated with milder hepatitis activity and lower possibility for disease progression. There may be a positive association between TLR2 rs3804099 polymorphism and hepatitis B activity. IL-6 is a good indicator of CHB disease progression.