Association between TGFB1 rs1800469 polymorphism and post-transplant complications in pediatric liver recipien

Objective: to evaluate the association between carriage of the rs1800469 polymorphism of the TGFB1 gene and the risk of post-transplant complications, rejection episodes, and infectious diseases in pediatric liver recipients.

Materials and methods. The study included 219 pediatric liver recipients (92 boys, 127 girls), aged 2.4 to 204 months (median 8 months). Indications for liver transplantation (LT) were end-stage liver failure resulting from congenital or acquired liver diseases. Genotyping of the TGFB1 rs1800469 polymorphism was performed using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with TaqMan probes.

Results. A comparative analysis of the allele frequency of rs1800469 of the TGFB1 gene was performed in three groups of pediatric liver recipients: (1) with versus without post-transplant complications, (2) with versus without rejection episodes, and (3) with versus without infectious complications. In all groups, allele frequencies conformed to Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (p > 0.05). No significant differences in rs1800469 variant distribution were observed between recipients with and without overall complications or between those with and without rejection episodes. However, marked differences emerged between recipients with and without infectious complications: the C/C genotype was 1.9 times less frequent (p = 0.0102), the C allele was 1.3 times less frequent (p = 0.0175), and the T allele was 1.4 times more frequent (p = 0.0175) in the infection group. Under a dominant inheritance model, carriers of the T allele (C/T + T/T) had 2.53-fold higher odds of infection compared with those with the homozygous C/C genotype in the group of recipients with infections than in those without (p = 0.0077).

Conclusion. In pediatric liver transplant recipients, the TGFB1 polymorphic variant rs1800469 is not associated with either a complicated post-transplant course or the occurrence of graft rejection episodes. However, carriers of the T allele appear to have an increased risk of infectious complications compared with those with the homozygous C/C genotype. These fi ndings suggest that the rs1800469 T allele may serve as a genetic marker for increased susceptibility to infections and could be considered in strategies for prevention of complications and individualized adjustment of immunosuppressive therapy.

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