Genetic polymorphisms in innate immunity genes influence predisposition to tick-borne encephalitis

In this study, we investigated the contribution of selected single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in innate immunity genes to predisposition to TBE in humans.

We found that SNPs in the IFIT1 and DDX58 genes are associated with predisposition to TBE in the Czech population representing new risk factors for TBE. Our results provide further evidence for the importance of host genetic factors in predisposition to TBE and add new candidate genes to the list of previously identified genetic polymorphisms that may be involved in this process in humans. Our results also suggest that genes associated with innate immune response may have a major impact on overall susceptibility to clinically manifest TBEV infection. The significance of IFIT1, IFIT2, and RIG-I in flavivirus infections has been well-documented. Nevertheless, this study is the first, to the best of our knowledge, to investigate the impact of specific SNPs within the genes encoding these proteins on susceptibility and/or the severity of flavivirus infections.