Host genetic effect on tuberculosis susceptibility in Chinese Uyghur

Objective

Host genetic factors may play important roles in susceptibility to tuberculosis (TB) infection, and different gene polymorphisms in different ethnicity and genetic backgrounds may lead to different effects on tuberculosis risk. This study aimed to investigate the association of four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with susceptibility to tuberculosis in Chinese Uyghur populations.

Methods

Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) including rs1524107 in interleukin-6 (IL-6) gene, rs1544410 in vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene, rs9373523 in the syntaxin-binding protein 5 (STXBP5) gene, rs4331426 on chromosome 18q11.2 were genotyped by the improved multiplex ligase detection reaction (iMLDR) method in 258 patients with active TB and 291 geographically and ethnically matched healthy controls.

Results

Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that subjects carrying rs1524107 CT genotype had significantly increased risk for TB than individuals carrying TT genotype (OR: 2.144, 95%CI: 1.134–4.054, p = 0.017); Subjects carrying rs1544410 CT genotype had significantly increased risk for TB than individuals carrying CC genotype (OR: 1.612, 95%CI: 1.122–2.315, p = 0.010); Subjects carrying rs9373523 GT genotype had significantly increased risk for TB than individuals carrying TT genotype (OR: 1.847, 95%CI: 1.123–3.040, p = 0.015). In addition, an age-specific effect in rs1544410 and a sex-specific effect in rs9373523 were detected after stratified by age and sex. Carrying T allele of rs1544410 exhibited increased TB risk (OR: 1.897, 95% CI: 1.070–3.365) in subjects less than 30 years old. Carrying the T allele of rs9373523 exhibited decreased TB risk (OR: 0.888, 95%CI: 0.634–1.242) in female group.

Conclusions

Host genetic factors may play a significant role in susceptibility to TB in Chinese Uyghur population.