Association between hepatitis B virus infection and HLA-DR type in Korea.

Abstract

Although the mechanism of susceptibility to chronic persistent hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is not well clarified, immunogenetic factors of the host may have a role. Recently, a strong association between HLA-DR13 and the self-limited course of HBV infection has been reported. To determine whether the elimination of HBV is related to a particular HLA allele, we studied the HBV markers and HLA-DR phenotypes of 1,272 Koreans who had visited Yonsei University Medical Center for renal transplantation. They included 330 renal transplant donors. Subjects were categorized into 3 different groups: the "Unexposed Group" (UE; n = 946) with negative HBV markers, the "Chronic Carrier Group" (CC; n = 83), who were hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive, and the "Spontaneously Cleared Group" (SC; n = 243), who were HBsAg-negative with antibodies to HBsAg (anti-HBs) and hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc). HLA-DR4 was the most common type in all groups. HLA-DR6 was significantly more frequent in 69 of 243 subjects with SC (28. 4%) than in 8 of 83 subjects with CC (9.6%) (P <.001; relative risk [RR] = 3.72). HLA-DR9 was significantly more frequent in CC than in SC (P <.001; RR = 0.33). HLA-DR13 showed a stronger association with the clearance of HBV than the other HLA-DR6 subgroup. The distribution of HLA-DR phenotypes was similar regardless of renal disease. Our data indicate that HLA-DR6, especially HLA-DR13, is one of the host factors, which influences the immune response to HBV, and may be associated with self-elimination of HBV in Koreans.

• Authors: S H Ahn, K H Han, J Y Park, C K Lee, S W Kang, C Y Chon, Y S Kim, K Park, D K Kim, Y M Moon
• Journal: Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.) (Hepatology) Vol. 31 Issue 6 Pg. 1371-3 (Jun 2000) ISSN: 0270-9139 [Print] United States
• PMID: 10827165 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Chemical References

• HLA-DR Antigens

Topics

• Adult
• Carrier State (immunology)
• Female
• HLA-DR Antigens (classification)
• Hepatitis B (immunology, physiopathology)
• Humans
• Korea
• Male
• Phenotype
• Remission, Spontaneous