Granzyme B gene polymorphisms and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with chronic hepatitis

Infection with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) continues to be a hazard for public health across the globe. Chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are all possible outcomes. It is obvious that certain patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) viral infection developed HCC, while other under almost similar circumstances do not. The present study aimed to investigate the possible a link between three single nucleotide gene polymorphisms (SNPs) in GzmB genes with the development of HCC. A total of 85 patients diagnosed with CHB participated in this research (40 patients with HCC and 45 patients without HCC). Three SNPs in GzmB gene (rs7144366, rs8192917 and rs2236338) were genotyped using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). The haplotype blocks derived from the three SNPs were assembled, and the linkage disequilibrium (LD) between the SNPs was determined using the SHEsis software. The homozygous mutant genotype (CC) was shown to be significantly more common in patients with HCC (27.5 %) than in those without HCC (11.11 %) (OR= 3.93, 95% CI=1.13-13.62, p=0.031). At allelic level, the mutant allele (C) was more frequent in patients with HCC than those without HCC (46.25% vs. 26.67%) with a significant deviation (OR=2.36, 95%CI= 1.25- 4.49, p= 0.008). The haplotype block CCG was more common among patients with HCC (26.25%) than those without HCC (12.22%) with a significant difference (OR= 2.56, 95%= 1.14-5.71, p= 0.022). The study indicated that individuals carrying the mutant homozygous (CC) of the SNP rs8192917 and allele C of this SNP may have a higher chance of developing HCC compared with those carrying other genotypes and T allele of the SNP. The haplotype block CCG (corresponding for C allele of rs7144366, C allele of rs8192917 and G allele of rs2236338) might be regarded as a risk factor for the emergence of HCC in patients with CHB.