FAS-670A/G single nucleotide polymorphism may be associated with human T lymphotropic virus-1 infection and clinical evolution to TSP/HAM

FAS and FASLG genes are closely linked to the apoptosis mechanism of the immune system and several polymorphisms in these genes have been associated with susceptibility to diseases. The present study investigated the polymorphisms at positions −670 in the FAS gene, and −169 and −124 in the FASLG gene, among HTLV-1 infected subjects. Blood samples from HTLV infected subjects and seronegative individuals were collected, and polymorphisms were analyzed using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by RFLP analysis using restriction endonucleases. The genotype frequencies of the FAS −670 polymorphism was the only one that showed a higher and significant prevalence of genotype −670GG among HTLV-1 infected subjects as compared to the control group (p = 0.0160), but the genotype −670AA was more frequent among TSP/HAM patients as compared to the asymptomatic individuals (p = 0.0005). TCD4⁺ and TCD8⁺ lymphocyte counts from HTLV infected and seronegative subjects, as well as the proviral load values, according to the status of symptomatic and asymptomatic infection carrying different genotypes were compared but showed no statistical significance. The present results suggest that FAS −670 polymorphism seems to be associated with susceptibility to HTLV-1 and may increase the chance to develop TSP/HAM among HTLV-1 infected persons.