Association of IL-10 (rs1800896) and TLR3 (rs1879026) polymorphism with progression of hcv-related liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma in Egyptian patients

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a significant global health concern, particularly in Egypt, where its prevalence is estimated at 4.5%-6.7%. The Egyptian genotype, HCV-4, accounts for most infections and is a leading cause of cirrhosis, chronic liver disease, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A previous study was conducted in Egypt to examine certain single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in both toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) and their association to interferon therapy. However, there is still a remaining gap to examine the correlation of both TLR3 and IL-10 gene polymorphism to the disease progression and disease prognosis among Egyptian genotype, HCV-4. This study investigates the relationship between toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) polymorphism (rs1879026) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) polymorphism (rs1800896) with liver disease progression among Egyptian HCV genotype 4 patients. A case-control study was conducted involving blood samples from Egyptian HCV patients, categorized into four groups: chronic hepatitis C, cirrhosis, HCC, and a healthy control group. Genotyping of IL-10 (rs1800896) and TLR3 (rs1879026) polymorphisms was performed using TaqMan SNP assays. Standard genomic analysis methods and international guidelines have been implemented for patient recruitment and analysis. The IL-10 rs1800896 CC genotype frequency increased progressively with disease severity, observed in 5% of controls, 26.67% fibrosis, 46.67% cirrhosis, and 66.67% HCC patients (p-value < 0.001), indicating a significant association with progression of HCV-related liver disease. In contrast, TLR3 rs1879026 genotype distribution showed no statistically significant differences across groups (p-value > 0.05). The IL-10 gene polymorphism (rs1800896) may contribute to genetic susceptibility in Egyptian patients, increasing the risk of HCV-related cirrhosis and HCC progression. In contrast, TLR3 rs1879026 had no clear impact on disease progression in Egyptian patients. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of testing the correlation between the IL-10 gene and the TLR3 polymorphism in disease progression among Egyptian HCV patients. Not applicable.