Superoxide Dismutase Gene (SOD1, SOD2, and SOD3) Polymorphisms and Antituberculosis Drug-induced Hepatitis

PURPOSE Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a serious issue often leading to discontinuation of the proper regimen of antituberculosis drugs (ATD). Previous studies have suggested that antioxidant enzymes play an important role in DILI. METHODS We explored whether polymorphisms in superoxide dismutase genes, including Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1), manganese superoxide dismutase (SOD2) and extracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD3) are associated with ATD-induced hepatitis. Genotype distributions of four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in three genes (rs2070424, SOD1; rs4880, SOD2; rs2536512, and rs1799895, SOD3) were compared between 84 patients with ATD-induced hepatitis and 237 patients tolerant to ATD. RESULTS Intron SNP rs2070424 of SOD1 showed a significant association with ATD-induced hepatitis. The frequency of genotypes carrying minor alleles (GA or GG) was significantly higher in the case group than that of controls (P=0.019, OR=2.26, 95% CI 1.14-4.49). For the other SNPs of SOD2 and SOD3, there were no differences in genotype frequencies between ATD-induced hepatitis and ATD-tolerant controls. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that rs2070424 of SOD1 is significantly associated with ATD-induced hepatitis. This genetic variant may be a risk factor for ATD-induced hepatitis in individuals from Korea.