Association of HLA alleles (A, B, DRB1) and HIV-1 infection in the Han population of Hubei, China

The HIV susceptibility and resistance alleles in the HLA genes were determined by investigating the distribution characteristics of the HLA alleles (A, B, and DRB1) in HIV-infected individuals of the Han population in Hubei, and by comparing these alleles with HIV-negative individuals from the same area. A cohort of 424 HIV-1 infected individuals were chosen as study subjects, and 836 HIV-negative healthy subjects from the same area served as the control population. HLA-A, B, and DRB1 allele typing was performed using polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes (PCR-SSOP) and polymerase chain reaction-sequencing based typing (PCR-SBT) techniques. Arlequin ver3.0 was used to analyze the allele and haplotype frequencies of HLA-A, B, and DRB 1, whereas Epi Info 7 and SPSS18.0 was used to analyze the differences in the HLA alleles between the HIV-1 positive and HIV-1 negative groups. A*02:03, DRB1*01:01, and DRB1*15:01 alleles and their haplotypes as well as the HLA_Bw4-Bw6 hybrid showed a protective effect on HIV-1 infection. After adjusting for confounding factors such as age and sex, multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that B*15:02G, DRB1*01:01, and DRB1*15:01 subtypes were the resistance genes of HIV-1 infection, while B*13:01 might increase susceptibility to HIV-1 infection. The correlation between A*02:06 and B*15:01G subtypes and HIV-1 susceptibility was independent of the age and sex of the host. This study demonstrated the influence of genetic factors in humans such as HLA polymorphism on individuals to resist HIV-1 infection. Association studies of HLA polymorphism, susceptibility/resistance to HIV-1 infection, and hosts' genetic background are of significant importance for research on HIV-1 pathogenesis and vaccine design.