Association of HLA-A, B, DRB1 alleles and haplotypes with HIV-1 infection in Chongqing, China

Abstract

BackgroundThe human immunodeficiency virus type 1(HIV-1) epidemic in Chongqing, China, is increasing rapidly with the dominant subtype of CRF07_BC over the past 3 years. Since human leukocyte antigen (HLA) polymorphisms have shown strong association with susceptibility/resistance to HIV-1 infection from individuals with different ethnic backgrounds, a recent investigation on frequencies of HLA class I and class II alleles in a Chinese cohort also indicated that similar correlation existed in HIV infected individuals from several provinces in China, however, such information is unavailable in Chongqing, southwest China.MethodsIn this population-based study, we performed polymerase chain reaction analysis with sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes (PCR-SSOP) for intermediate-low-resolution HLA typing in a cohort of 549 HIV-1 infected individuals, another 2475 healthy subjects from the Han nationality in Chongqing, China, were selected as population control. We compared frequencies of HLA-A, B, DRB1 alleles, haplotypes and genotypes between the two groups, and analyzed their association with HIV-1 susceptibility or resistance.ResultsThe genetic profile of HLA (A, B, DRB1) alleles of HIV-1 infected individuals from Chongqing Han of China was obtained. Several alleles of HLA-B such as B*46 (P = 0.001, OR = 1.38, 95%CI = 1.13-1.68), B*1501G(B62) (P = 0.013, OR = 1.42, 95%CI = 1.08-1.88), B*67 (P = 0.022, OR = 2.76, 95%CI = 1.16-6.57), B*37 (P = 0.014, OR = 1.93, 95%CI = 1.14-3.28) and B*52 (P = 0.038, OR = 1.64, 95%CI = 1.03-2.61) were observed to have association with susceptibility to HIV-1 infection in this population. In addition, the haplotype analysis revealed that A*11-B*46, A*24-B*54 and A*01-B*37 for 2-locus, and A*11-B*46-DRB1*09, A*02-B*46-DRB1*08, A*11-B*4001G-DRB1*15, A*02-B*4001G-DRB1*04, A*11-B*46-DRB1*08 and A*02-B*4001G-DRB1*12 for 3-locus had significantly overrepresented in HIV-1 infected individuals, whereas A*11-B*1502G, A*11-B*1502G-DRB1*12 and A*33-B*58-DRB1*13 were underrepresented. However, the low-resolution homozygosity of HLA-A, B, DRB1 loci and HLA-Bw4/Bw6 genotypes did not differ significantly between the two groups.ConclusionThese results may contribute to the database of HLA profiles in HIV-1 infected Chinese population, consequently, the association of certain HLA alleles with susceptibility or resistance to HIV-1 infection would provide with clues in choosing proper preventive strategies against HIV-1 infection and developing effective HIV-1 vaccines in Chinese population, especially for those in southwest China.

Association of the HLA-B*52 allele with non-progression to AIDS in Brazilian HIV-1-infected individuals

“…27 Among the genetic factors involved in the immune response to HIV, the human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) exert the strongest influence on viral control, immune escape and disease progression. [28][29][30][31] Several HLA class I alleles are associated with the susceptibility to HIV-1 infection and/or AIDS progression. The HLA-B alleles in particular impose substantially greater selection pressure on HIV-1 and are considered the strongest genetic determinant of disease outcome.…”

High Resolution Human Leukocyte Antigen Class I Allele Frequencies and HIV-1 Infection Associations in Chinese Han and Uyghur Cohorts

“…However, most of these studies focused exclusively on the distribution of HLA alleles and haplotypes, and not on their association with HIV infection. HIV infection and HLA profile association studies have been conducted in Chinese populations, but have been based on 2-digit HLA typing [20], [21]. The scarcity of research on the association between high resolution HLA alleles and haplotypes and HIV-1 susceptibility may be an impediment to the development of an effective HIV vaccine in China.…”

HLA Class I Alleles Associated with Mortality in Thai Military Recruits with HIV-1 CRF01_AE Infection

“…Indeed, more recent studies have suggested that HLA-B*46, which is a common allele in Asians, 19,21 is actually associated with increased susceptibility to HIV-1 infection. 22 Examining associations between HLA-B*46 and specific HLA-C alleles with disease acquisition and progression in these larger studies may provide additional insights.…”