Class II HLA alleles and hepatitis B virus persistence in African Americans

Persistence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is likely due to the interplay of the virus and host immune response. Given its critical role in antigen presentation, allelic differences in the HLA complex may affect HBV persistence. In a prospectively followed African American cohort, molecular class I and class II HLA typing was done on 31 subjects with persistent HBV infection and 60 controls who cleared the infection. HBV persistence was significantly associated with two class II alleles, DQA1 *0501 (odds ratio [OR], 2.6; P=.05) and DQB1 *0301 (OR, 3.9; P=.01), the two-locus haplotype consisting of these same two alleles (OR, 3; P=. 005) and the three-locus haplotype, DQA1 *0501, DQB1 *0301, and DRB1 *1102 (OR, 10.7; P=.01). In addition, HBV persistence was associated with class II allelic homozygosity. Several class I associations with persistence were also noted but were not statistically significant after correction for multiple comparisons. These results underscore the importance of the class II-mediated immune response in recovery from HBV infection.