HLA ‐G gene 14‐bp deletion variant protects Iranian subjects against chronic hepatitis B infection

Summary To investigate whether 14‐bp Ins/Del polymorphism in HLA ‐G gene is associated with the risk of chronic hepatitis B ( CHB ) infection. This study was performed on a total of 396 individuals including 199 CHB patients and 197 healthy subjects from a south‐east Iranian population. We genotyped 14‐bp Ins/Del polymorphism in the HLA ‐G gene using polymerase chain reaction method. The results of our study revealed that the HLA ‐G 14‐bp deletion polymorphism was associated with a reduced risk of CHB at both allele and genotypic levels. The 14‐bp Del allele and Ins/Del genotype were more frequent in control group than in CHB patients (37% vs 28% for Del allele with OR  = 0.68 and p ‐value = .015; 73% vs 52% for Ins/Del genotype with OR  = 0.43 and p ‐value = .001) and both were protective factors against CHB . However, no difference was found in the distribution of HLA ‐G 14‐bp genotypes among subjects with varied levels of HBV DNA or hepatic enzymes ( p  > .05). Our findings, for the first time, suggest that the HLA ‐G 14‐bp Ins/Del polymorphism may be a marker for genetic susceptibility to CHB infection.