Distribution of the human leukocyte antigen class II alleles in Brazilian patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a global medical problem. The current standard of treatment consists of the combination of peginterferon plus ribavirin. This regimen eradicates HCV in 55% of cases. The immune response to HCV is an important determinant of disease evolution and can be influenced by various host factors. HLA class II may play an important role in immune response against HCV. The objective of the present study was to determine the distribution of HLA class II (DRB1 and DQB1) alleles, their association with chronic HCV infection and their response to interferon therapy. One hundred and two unrelated white Brazilian patients with chronic HCV infection, 52 responders (45 males and 7 females) and 50 non-responders (43 males and 7 females) to antiviral treatment, were included in the study. Healthy Brazilian bone marrow donors of Caucasian origin from the same geographic area constituted the control group (HLA-DRB1, N = 99 and HLA-DQB1, N = 222 individuals). HLA class II genotyping was performed using a low-resolution DRB1, DQB1 sequence-specific primer amplification. There were higher frequencies of HLA-DRB1*13 (26.5 vs 14.1%) and HLA-DQB1*02 (52.9 vs 38.7%) in patients compared with controls; however, these were not significantly different after P correction (Pc = 0.39 and Pc = 0.082, respectively). There was no significant difference between the phenotypic frequencies of HLA-DRB1 (17.3 vs 14.0%) and HLA-DQB1 alleles in responder and non-responder HCV patients. The HLA-DRB1*07 allele was significantly more common in HCV patients (33.3 vs 12.1%) than in controls (Pc = 0.0039), suggesting that the HLA-DRB1*07 allele is associated with chronic HCV infection.

Patient HLA-DRB1* and -DQB1* allele and haplotype association with hepatitis C virus persistence and clearance

“…had a sustained virological response (SVR), whilst 54 patients (26 males and 28 females) did not respond to the therapy (non-SVR) ( Table 2). These patients were tested at two intervals, 6 months and 1 year after completion of the standard IFN Corghi et al (2008) therapy. Patients who remained negative for HCV during this period were grouped as SVR whilst the others were grouped as non-SVR.…”

Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) and Immune Regulation: How Do Classical and Non-Classical HLA Alleles Modulate Immune Response to Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Hepatitis C Virus Infections?

“…Interestingly, another study reported a protective role for DRB1*01:01/HLA-DQB1*03:01 against HCV in white Americans but not in African-Americans (342). However, DQB1*07 is associated with viral persistence (343, 344). …”

Factors Affecting the Response to Interferon Alpha Therapy in Egyptian HCV Patients

“…The present study indented to discuss the effect of HLA class II alleles as multiple studies have reported that class II alleles may play a role in the natural history of HCV infection (Corghi et al, 2008), viral load and even in the curative effect of antiviral therapy Jiao and Wang (2003). It is generally accepted that cellular immune responses play an important role in viral clearance and disease resolution.…”