Association of ATP-Binding Cassette Transporter (ABC) Gene Polymorphisms with Viral Load in Patients with Genotype 1 Hepatitis C Virus Infection.

BACKGROUND: ATP-binding cassette transporters (ABC) gene polymorphisms are associated with various biological functions, including hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. This study aims to explore the impact of ABC transporters polymorphisms on HCV viral load in chronic treatment-naïve hepatitis C patients.

METHODS: We recruited 347 Chinese Han patients chronically infected with genotype 1 HCV in this study. Ten single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) in ABCA1, ABCB5, ABCB11, ABCG2, ABCG5, ABCG10 were analyzed by custom chip from Illumina. Allele frequency analysis and genotype frequency analysis were performed.

RESULTS: Patients were categorized according to pretreatment HCV viral load (VL) with a cutoff level 600 000 IU/mL. No significant variations on gender and age were observed in the two groups. G allele of rs3890182 and C allele of rs1883025 in ABCA1 gene were significantly associated with lower HCV viral load (p = 0.013 and p = 0.006) in allele frequency analysis. GG genotype of rs3890182 and CC genotype of rs1883025 in ABCA1 gene were significantly associated with lower HCV viral load (p = 0.027 and p = 0.013) in genotype frequency analysis. Quantitative analysis showed significantly lower viral load in patients with CC genotype of rs1883025 (p = 0.012). Allele associated lower HCV viral load was reported to be associated with higher HDL cholesterol level.

CONCLUSIONS: Our finding suggests that ABCA1 gene polymorphism in rs1883025 is significantly associated with HCV VL in patients infected with HCV genotype 1.