Background: Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) could be infective through blood transfusion or organ transplantation. MicroRNA-30a rs1358379 polymorphism plays a crucial role in the development of end-stage renal disease (ESRD).
Objectives: We aimed at revealing the association between CC genotype of MicroRNA-30a rs1358379 polymorphism and occult HBV infection in ESRD Egyptian patients.
Methods: We performed real-time PCR for the quantification of HBV-DNA in the serum of 139 ESRD patients and for diagnosis of MicroRNA-30a rs1358379 polymorphism in the serum of patients and 100 healthy controls. Results: Out of 139 patients, 125 (89.9%) were HBsAg negative. We observed a high percentage of the CC genotype among patients (106=76.2%), while the CT and TT genotypes were (19=13.7%) and (14=10.1%), respectively. The C allele represented 83.1% in patients whereas the T allele was 16.9%. The CC and CT genotypes in patients had a statistically significant difference in the mean level of PCR. The CT genotype in patients among males and the TT genotype amongst females had the higher statistically significant percentages. The presence of C allele declared a statistically significant difference in the mean levels of AST and PCR. Conclusion: We found that the high percentage of C allele or CC genotype of MicroRNA-30a rs1358379 polymorphism in ESRD Egyptian patients might be responsible for the existence of HBV DNA with lack of exhibited hepatitis B surface antigen.