REVIEW ARTICLE
Association of Mannose-Binding Lectin Gene Polymorphisms with Liver Diseases: A Review
Robert S. Lo1, 2, *, Andrew S. Austin1, Jan G. Freeman1
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2018Volume: 5
First Page: 39
Last Page: 46
Publisher ID: MEDJ-5-39
DOI: 10.2174/1874220301805010039
Article History:
Received Date: 21/12/2017Revision Received Date: 14/4/2018
Acceptance Date: 23/7/2018
Electronic publication date: 29/08/2018
Collection year: 2018
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Mannose-Binding Lectin (MBL) is a member of the collectin family and is an important protein in the immune system. It is a pathogen pattern-recognition molecule that binds to specific carbohydrate motifs on the surface of many pathogens. MBL activates complement via lectin pathway. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the MBL gene influence serum MBL concentration and function. MBL deficiencies increase the risk of infection and disease-specific complications, especially in those who are already immune compromised with pre-existing conditions. This review discusses the molecular genetics of human MBL and the association of MBL polymorphisms with liver diseases including liver fibrosis, viral hepatitis B, viral hepatitis C, and infection post-liver transplantation.