Association of the distal CXC chemokine cluster with liver fibrosis in mice and humans

Aims: Identification of genetic determinants for liver fibrogenesis has been hindered due to lack of reproducibility of study results. Thus, we have proposed to identify fibrogenic risk factors in mouse crosses and to validate significant gene clusters subsequently in human studies. In a QTL analysis, we have identified a region on mouse chromosome 5 as a potential genetic modifier of liver fibrosis. This region harbors the Cxc chemokine cluster. We now investigated the relationship of this gene cluster with liver fibrosis in a linkage study in mice and an association study in patients with hepatitis C. Methods:…