Influence of KIR in the HIV-1/AIDS disease in the North/Northwest region of Paraná State, Brazil.

Abstract

Introduction:The aim of this study was to investigate NK cell count and the association of KIR, HLA Class I and KIR-HLA ligands with HIV infection and progression to AIDS. Methods: A total of 99 blood samples were collected from HIV-1 patients and 99 for the control group. The quantification of NK cells was performed by flow cytometry and the definition of the KIR and HLA genes was performed by PCR-SSOr. HLA Class I allele and haplotype frequencies were obtained using Arlequin software, and gene, genotype and haplotype frequencies of KIR and KIR-HLA ligands were obtained by direct counting. Statistical analyses were conducted using Chi-square test with Yates correction or Fisher's exact test for categorical variables and the Mann-Whitney test for continuous variables. Results: The NK cells count was lower in HIV group compared to controls. HLA-A*68:02 allele was associated to susceptibility to HIV infection, and HLA-A*23:01 and HLA-A*32:01 were protective factor for HIV infection and for AIDS progression, respectively. The KIR3DL1-Bw4-80Ilehmz ligand and only the Bw4-80Ilehmz ligand group were associated to HIV infection. KIR2DS3/2DL3/C1 and the combination of inhibitory KIR2DL3-C1/3DL2-A3/A11 showed protection to HIV infection. Conclusions: The HIV infection interfered with NK cell count. In addition, our results confirmed HLA class I associations with HIV infection and AIDS progression, and suggest the influence of activating and inhibitory KIRs and its HLA class I ligands on course of HIV infection.