Relationship of human leukocyte antigen class Ⅱ genes with the susceptibility to hepatitis B virus infection and the response to interferon in HBV-infected patients

AIM： To study the relationship of human leukocyte antigen （HLA）-DRB1 and -DQB1 alleles with the genetic susceptibility to HBV infection and the response to interferon （IFN） in HBV-infected patients. METHODS： Low-resolution DNA typing kit was used to determine HLA-DR-1 and -DQB1 genes in 72 patients with chronic hepatitis B （CHB） and HLA-DRB1 in 200 healthy people ready to donate their bone marrow in Shanghai. Among CHB patients, 35 were treated with IFNα-1b for 24 wk. RESULTS： The frequencies of HLA-DRBI＊06, DRBI＊08 and DRB1＊16 alleles in 72 patients were higher than in 200 healthy people （2.08% vs0%, OR = 3.837, P= 0.018; 11.11% vs5.50%, OR = 2.148, P= 0.034; and 6.94% vs 3.00%, OR = 0.625, P = 0.049, respectively）; whereas that of DRBI＊07 allele was lower （2.78% vs 7.75%, OR = 0.340, P= 0.046）. The frequency of HLA-DRBI＊ 14 allele was higher in 11 responders to IFN compared with 24 non-responders （18.18% vs2.08%, OR = 10.444, P = 0.031）, whereas that of DQBI＊07 allele was inverse （9.09% vs37.50%, OR = 0.167, P= 0.021）. CONCLUSION： The polymorphism of HLA class II may influence the susceptibility to HBV infection and the response to IFN in studied CHB patients. Compared with other HLA-DRB1 alleles, HLA-DRBI＊06, DRBI＊08, and DRB1＊16 may be associated with chronicity of HBV infection, HLA-DRBI＊07 with protection against HBV infection, and HLA-DRB1＊14 allele may be associated with a high rate of the response of CHB patients to IFN treatment. Compared with other HLA-DQB1 alleles, HLA-DQBI＊07 may be associated with low response rate to IFN. 2005 The WJG Press and Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved