Association between Hypoxia-inducible Factor-1α gene polymorphisms and risk of chronic hepatitis b and hepatitis b virus-related liver cirrhosis in a Chinese population: A retrospective case–control study

• Hypoxia-inducible factor-1a gene polymorphisms in HBV-related patients were examined.
• Null association was found in HBV and LC patients.
• Insignificant association was also found in LC patients using HBV infectors as reference.
• Polymorphisms of this gene may not contribute to the risk of CHB and LC.

BackgroundOur recent study demonstrated a significant association between HIF-1α polymorphisms and hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Since chronic hepatitis B (CHB), liver cirrhosis (LC), and HCC are progressive stages of chronic HBV infection, the aim of this study is to further determine if HIF-1α polymorphisms are associated with CHB and HBV-related LC.MethodsTwo HIF-1α polymorphisms (rs11549465 and rs115494657) were examined in 173 healthy controls, 153 patients with CHB, and 132 patients with HBV-related LC, using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. DNA sequencing was also used to validate the genotype results.ResultsThere were no significant differences regarding the HIF-1α rs11549465 and rs115494657 polymorphisms between the patient groups and the healthy controls, no matter the genotypes, alleles, or haplotypes. To exclude the potential influence of HBV infection in the association between HIF-1a and HBV-related LC, a comparison between the LC patients and HBV infected patients was also conducted, but a similar insignificant result was found.ConclusionsOur data suggest that the HIF-1α gene polymorphisms might not contribute to the development of CHB and HBV-related LC in a Chinese population.