Alterations of the innate immunity contribute to the development of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) in liver cirrhosis. Given its role in immune signaling, antimicrobial function, and macrophage differentiation, we hypothesized that genetic polymorphisms of TRAF6 modulate the risk of SBP. Thus, we determined theTRAF6 haplotype in 432 patients with cirrhosis and ascites using the haplotype-tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms rs331457 and rs5030419. In addition, peritoneal macrophages were immunomagnetically isolated and characterized. Overall, 122 (28%) patients had an episode of SBP. In the combined prospective-retrospective analysis the frequency of SBP differed between the four haplotypes (P = 0.014) and was the highest in 102 patients carrying the rs331457 but not the rs5030419 variant, when compared to other haplotypes (odds ratio 1.95 [1.22–3.12]) or to the wild-type (odds ratio 1.71 [1.04–2.82]). This association was confirmed in multivariate logistic regression (adjusted odds ratio 2.00 [1.24–3.22]) and in prospective sensitivity analysis (hazard ratio 2.09 [1.08–4.07]; P = 0.03). The risk haplotype was associated with lower concentrations of the immune activation marker soluble CD87 in ascitic fluid and with a decreased expression of IL-6 and CXCL8 in isolated peritoneal macrophages. In conclusion, genetic polymorphisms of TRAF6 are associated with decreased peritoneal immune activation and an increased risk of SBP.
Background and aims: Protein and organelle turnover by autophagy is a key component to maintain cellular homeostasis. Loss of the autophagy protein ATG16L1 is associated with reduced bacterial killing and aberrant interleukin-1β production, perpetuating inflammation and carcinogenesis. Here we hypothesized that the functional p.T300A gene variant in ATG16L1 is associated with an increased risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in cirrhosis.
Methods:A case-control study was performed using a prospective derivation cohort (107 patients with HCC and 101 controls) and an independent validation cohort (124 patients with HCC and 108 controls) of patients with cirrhosis of any aetiology. ATG16L1 p.T300A (rs2241880) and PNPLA3 p.I148M (rs738409) variants were determined by real-time PCR.Results: The G allele of the ATG16L1 p.T300A variant was more frequent in patients with HCC compared to controls without HCC in the derivation cohort (0.62 vs. 0.51, P = .022) and in the validation cohort (0.59 vs. 0.50, P = .045). In combined analysis, the odds ratios (OR) were 1.76 (95% CI: 1.07-2.88) for G allele positivity and 2.43 (95% CI: 1.37-4.31) for p.T300A G allele homozygosity. This association was independent from the presence of a PNPLA3 variant, which was also associated with HCC (OR 2.10; 95% CI: 1.20-3.66), and it remained significant after adjustment for male sex, age and aetiology in multivariate analysis.
Conclusion:The common germ-line ATG16L1 gene variant is a risk factor for HCC in patients with cirrhosis. Personalized strategies employing the genetic risk conferred by ATG16L1 and PNPLA3 may be used for risk-based surveillance in cirrhosis. K E Y W O R D S ATG16L1, autophagy, cirrhosis, genetic polymorphisms, hepatocellular carcinoma | 2361 REUKEN Et al.
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