Abstract: Objective To assess the relationship of the severity of chronic hepatitis C severity with tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) promoter gene polymorphism(-857C/T, -308G/A, -238G/A), and the levels of serum. Methods Totally 102 patients of the Han ethnic group with chronic hepatitis C were recruited. The patients with chronic hepatitis C were classified into mild(44 cases), moderate(34 cases), and severe types(24 cases) based on liver function.The level of serum TNF-α was determined by ELISA, and the genetype of TNF-α-857C/T, -308G/A, -238G/A were determined by polymerase chain reaction estriction fragment length polymorphism(PCR-RFLP). Results The level of fasting serum TNF-α in the patients with chronic hepatitis C was higher than that of normal controls(P=0.000), in the mild type, it was lower than that of the moderate type(P=0.012) and severe group(P=0.001), and no statistical difference was found between moderate and severe group(P=0.252). Allelic frequency of TNF-α-857T in mild type of the patients with chronic hepatitis C was lower that of the severe type(P=0.004). No difference in allelic frequency of TNF-α-308A/G and TNF-α-238A/G was found among the mild, moderate, and severe groups. Conclusion The level of fasting serum TNF-α in patients with chronic hepatitis C was higher than that in the normal controls, and was positively correlated with pathological change. Allelic frequency of TNF-α-857T in the mild group was higher than that in the severe group.

Key words: chronic hepatitis C, tumor necrosis factor-α, gene polymorphism, severity