Abstract: Objective If it is not consistent with the genotype in a given patient, the recombinant human interferon alpha would induce the production of more anti-interferon neutralization antibodies and leads to therapeutic failure. By analyzing the gene polymorphisms of IFNA1 and IFNA2 in Chinese population, the genetic background of recombinant human interferon α1 and α2 in Chinese population was clarified, so as to provide a reference for clinical medication. Methods Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci in the coding region of IFNA1 and IFNA2 were retrieved from the SNP database, and the distribution of IFNA1 and IFNA2 alleles in Chinese population were searched in the 1000 genome database. The polymorphisms of the two genes were counted and all of allele frequencies were calculated. Results A total of 310 Chinese diploid genome sequences were included in the 1000 genomes database, and all the Chinese persons had IFNA1 and IFNA2 gene loci; the IFNα1 gene loci contained IFNα1,IFNA1(Ala137Val) and IFNα1(Arg148Gln) alleles, with the gene frequencies of 99.6%, 0.2% and 0.2%, respectively; the IFNA2 gene locus also contained three alleles: e.g. IFNα2b, IFNα2b (Leu140Val) and IFNα2b (Ala120Thr), with the gene frequencies of 98.4%, 0.2%, and 1.4%, respectively.Conclusion The IFNα1 and IFNα2b are the dominant alleles of IFNA1 and IFNA2 gene loci in Chinese population, while only IFNα2b is consistent with the Chinese human genotype among the three subtypes of IFNα1b, IFNα2a and IFNα2 approved for marketing in China.

Key words: Viral hepatitis, Interferon alpha;Allele gene;Gene polymorphism