IL-12 RB1 Genetic Variants Contribute to Human Susceptibility to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Infection among Chinese

Tang, Fang; Liu, Wei; Zhang, Fang; Xin, Zhong-Tao; Wei, Mao-Ti; Zhang, Pan-He; Yang, Hong; Ly, Hinh; Cao, Wu-Chun

SARS pathogenesis is less well understood, yet it is a vital issue in the disease management. It has been suggested that genetic variations of the host and/or the virus may account for the individual difference in the severity of the disease. Studies have addressed some of the host genes that might play a role in disease development [5, 7] . However, all of the available studies have failed to take viral factor(s) into consideration. These studies thus cannot exclude the possible false association caused by the differentiated viral adaption in humans. The SARS patients in the current study were mostly health care workers in two SARSdesignated hospitals. Epidemiological investigations have clearly defined detailed transmission among those patients, showing each of the group came from one super spread chain arising from one infection source. In the multiple logistic analysis, we used the infection source as one of the covariants, and by doing so, we could technically exclude the potential confounding effect that might be caused by viral factor(s). Advanced age and presence of comorbidity are other two factors that might influence the disease susceptibility [3, 4] , which were excluded from potential confounding by multiple variants analysis.