Association of HLA class I and II genes with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection in Koreans

Introduction Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) caused by MERS‐coronavirus (CoV) is a lower respiratory tract disease characterized by a high mortality rate. MERS‐CoV spread from Saudi Arabia to other countries, including South Korea. Dysfunction of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system has many effects due to genetic complexity and its role in the adaptive immune response. We investigated the association of HLA class I and II alleles with MERS‐CoV in 32 patients with MERS. Methods HLA‐A, ‐B, ‐C, ‐DRB1, ‐DQB1, and ‐DPB1 were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction sequence‐based typing. Results HLA‐DQB1*03:02 are significantly associated with moderate/mild cases of MERS‐CoV. Other alleles are no statistical significance. Conclusions Treatment strategies based on current research on the HLA gene and MERS‐CoV will provide potential therapeutic targets.