Association betweenTLR7copy number variations and hepatitis B virus infection outcome in Chinese

AIMTo explore whether copy number variations (CNVs) of toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7 ) are associated with susceptibility to chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. METHODSThis study included 623 patients (495 males and 128 females) with chronic hepatitis B virus infection (CHB) and 300 patients (135 females and 165 males) with acute hepatitis B virus infection (AHB) as controls.All CHB patients were further categorized according to disease progression after HBV infection (CHB, liver cirrhosis, or hepatocellular carcinoma).Copy numbers of the TLR7 gene were measured using the AccuCopy method.χ 2 tests were used to evaluate the association between TLR7 CNVs and infection type.P values, odds ratios, and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to estimate the effects of risk. RESULTSA m o n g m a l e p a t i e n t s , t h e r e w e r e s i g n i f i c a n t differences between the AHB group and CHB group in the distribution of TLR7 CNVs.