Ethnicity and route of HCV infection can influence the associations of HLA with viral clearance in an ethnically heterogeneous population.

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Viral Hepat. 2011 Oct;18(10):692-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2893.2010.01429.x. Epub

2011 Apr 8.

Ethnicity and route of HCV infection can influence the associations of HLA with

viral clearance in an ethnically heterogeneous population.

de Almeida BS, Fabrício Silva GM, da Silva PM, de Mello R, Figueiredo FA,

Porto LC.

Source

Department of Gastroenterology Histocompatibility Laboratory, Rio de Janeiro

State University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Abstract

Summary.  Approximately 20% of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infected individuals

clear the virus. Host factors that influence the course of HCV infection are

still under investigation, and the data on the association of human leukocyte

antigen (HLA) alleles and HCV clearance are scarce and controversial. The aims

of this study were to investigate whether HLA alleles are associated with

clearance of HCV infection in a highly admixed Brazilian population and whether

these associations could be influenced by ethnicity and route of infection.

HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1 and -DQB1 genotyping were performed in 135 HCV-infected

Brazilian patients among which 45 cleared HCV infection (cases) and 90 had

persistent viral infection (controls). Controls were matched by sex, ethnicity

(withes and non-whites) and route of infection (high infectious dose or low

infectious dose). No significant association was identified between HLA alleles

and the outcome of HCV infection when analyzing the sample as a single group.

However, a new protective association of HLA-DQB1*04 (P = 0.006; P©

 = 0.030) and a rarely described association of HLA-DRB1*08 (P = 0.004;

P©  = 0.048) were found only among white patients. The DRB1*11 allele,

previously reported in homogeneous population, was associated with HCV clearance

(P = 0.020) only among patients with expected high-dose exposure. These

findings confirm the influence of ethnicity on the associations of HLA with

spontaneous viral clearance of HCV infection and emphasize the possible

influence of route of infection in this process.

© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

PMID: 21914086 [PubMed - in process]