Variants in TLR6 Gene Influence Susceptibility to Tuberculosis in the Chinese Population

Abstract BACKGROUND Tuberculosis (TB) is a common chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacteria tuberculosis. Several researches revealed that TLR6 play a crucial roles in the risk of TB. METHODS The association between TLR6 polymorphism and TB risk were evaluated by a case-control study. Total of 510 TB cases and 508 unrelated healthy controls were recruited. Subsequently, the Agena MassARRAY platform was conducted to genotype, and odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were assessed the relationship between TLR6 variants and TB risk. RESULTS We found that rs6531668 of TLR6 gene was significantly association with TB risk. Stratified analysis confirmed that rs6531668 was significant increased risk of TB in age > 41 years old. Interestingly, the G/C – C/C genotype of rs12642845 was significantly interacted with decreased risk of TB in age > 41 years. In males, rs3775073 G/A genotype and rs12642845 G/C genotype were correlated with decreased the risk of TB. Besides, we also observed that the CTA and TCG haplotypes were decreased TB risk. CONCLUSIONS Our results shown that TLR6 gene variants were related with TB risk among the Chinese population.