Variation of HLA-DPB1 Gene in Hepatitis B Infection

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) affects approximately 68 million people in China. 10-15% of adult infected with HBV will develop to chronic HBV, liver cirrhosis (LC), liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The human leukocyte antigen HLA-DPB1 gene polymorphism and expression were identified to be associated with HBV susceptible and spontaneous clearance. We evaluated the role of HLA-DPB1 gene polymorphism in HBV infection.Methods: In this study, HLA-DPB1, rs9277535 polymorphisms were investigated in 259 HBV infection patients (CHB) and 442 healthy controls (HC) by using a sequence based typing. The mRNA of HLA-DPB1 were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results: The results shown that DPB1 gene, rs9277535 were all associated with HBV infection in the Sichuan Han population. Rs9277535A, DPB1*04:02 play a protected role in HBV infection, Rs9277535G, DPB1*05:01 prone to susceptible to HBV infection. rs9277535GG have significantly higher HLA-DPB1 mRNA expression in HBV group compared that in HC group. DPB1*05:01 and DPB1*21:01 have a significantly lower HLA-DPB1 mRNA expression in HBV infection group compared than HC group. The meta-analysis revealed that HLA-DPB1*02:01, DPB1*02:02, DPB1*04:01 and DPB1*04:02 protected against HBV infection, while DPB1*05:01, DPB1*09:01, and DPB1*13:01 were risk factors for HBV infection susceptibility. DPB1*02:01 and DPB1*04:01 were prone to HBV spontaneous clearance, while DPB1*05:01 and DPB1*13:01 were associated with chronic HBV infection.Conclusions: DPB1 alleles and rs9277535 have a major effect on the risk of HBV infection, HBV infection associated with lower HLA-DPB1 expression. DPB1 alleles have important role in HBV susceptible and spontaneous clearance.