GLUTATHIONE-S-TRANSFERASE M1 AND T1 GENE POLYMORPHISMS AND SUSCEPTIBILITY TO THE PROGRESSION OF LIVER FIBROSIS IN HCV-INFECTED PATIENTS IN TAIWAN GENETSKI POLIMORFIZMI GLUTATION-S-TRANSFERAZE M1 I T1 I PODLO@NOST PROGRESIJI FIBROZE JETRE KOD PACIJENATA ZARA@ENIH VIRUSOM HEPATITISA C NA TAJVANU

Summary Background: This study was conducted to evaluate the influence of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) M1 and T1 polymorphisms in 184 patients with different stages of liver fibrosis and hepatitis C virus infection and 173 healthy control subjects. Methods: DNA samples were extracted from whole blood, and the polymorphisms of GSTM1 and GSTT1 were determined with PCR using fluorescence-labeled Taq Man probes. Associations between specific genotypes and progression of liver fibrosis were examined by use of the logistic regression analysis to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Results show that no differences were found between the frequencies of GSTM1 (49.8% versus 50.2%) and GSTT1 (52.2% versus 47.8%) null genotypes in HCV-infected pa tients and healthy controls, respectively. In addition, there was also no significant relation between the frequency of GSTM1 or GSTT1 gene polymorphisms and fibrosis stage as classified by the METAVIR group. Conclusions: The combined GSTM1 and GSTT1 null genotypes showed an association between GSTM1 [-]/GSTT1 [] and progression of liver fibrosis.