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Abstract
Background and aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the possible influence of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) gene promoter polymorphisms on the hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Chinese hemodialysis (HD) patients. Methods: A total of 884 HD patients from 14 HD centers in south China were investigated. The TNF-α gene promoter polymorphisms at positions 238 and 308 of the patients were detected by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)–restriction fragment length polymorphism method. Results: Among the 884 patients, 176 (19.9%) were anti-HCV (+), and 142 (80.7%) of the anti-HCV (+) patients became chronically infected. The anti-HCV (+) patients showed longer duration of HD, higher rate of blood transfusion, kidney transplantation, and dialyzer reuse, compared with the anti-HCV (−) patients. However, the distributions of TNF-α −238 and −308 alleles and genotypes had no significant differences between the anti-HCV (+) and the anti-HCV (−) patients (p > 0.05). And the frequencies of the above alleles and genotypes were also approximately equally distributed in the persistent infection and in the viral clearance HD patients (p > 0.05). Conclusions: This study did not suggest that the TNF-α −238 and −308 polymorphisms had influence on the infection of HCV in Chinese HD patients.