Association of toll-like receptor polymorphisms with acquisition of HIV infection and clinical findings: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: To find the relationship between toll-like receptor (TLR) gene variants and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and clinical findings, which could inform clinical decisions and vaccination strategies.

Method: Four databases were searched for articles that were published on or before Jul.1, 2020. Review Manager 5.3 software was applied to perform meta-analysis to explore.

Results: A total of 10 studies involving 20 genes, 3697 cases, and 6498 controls were included in this systematic review. TLR2 -196 to -174 Ins/Del (odds ratio [OR] = 1.562; P = .002), TLR4 rs4986790 (OR = 2.05; P = .002), TLR3 rs3775291 (OR = 0.25; P = .03), TLR7 rs179008 (P = .002), TLR7 rs2074109 (OR = 0.27, P = .019) were found associated with HIV infection. TLR2 -196 to -174, TLR4 rs4986790, TLR7 rs179008, TLR8 rs3764880, TLR9 rs352140 were found associated with clinical findings of HIV infection. We identified 5 case-control studies in meta-analysis, involving 695 cases and 729 controls on TLR7 rs179008 polymorphism, totaling 652 cases and 614 controls on TLR9 rs352140 polymorphism. In meta-analysis, we employed various genetic models. The T allele of TLR7 rs179008 was conferred the risk of HIV infection (T vs A: OR = 1.25, PA = .02). An increased risk of HIV infection was found for individuals with the TLR9 rs352140 GG genotype (GG vs AA: OR = 1.50, PA = .04).

Conclusions: The systematic review indicated that TLR7 rs179008 T allele provides risk effects for HIV infection. TLR9 rs352140 GG genotype may associate with HIV infection.