[Association between HLA antigens and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection]

Infection by hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a growing public-health concern. After infection, 80% of infected subjects develop chronic viremia. Some developing chronic liver disease, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma several years after the initial infection. The remaining 20% are able to control the infection, clearing the virus spontaneously. It is generally accepted that genes within the major histocompatibility complex play a central role in the development of the immune response against HCV. The search has focused on HLA gene products to identify disease susceptibility genes. No significant associations were shown between HLA class I and disease or response to interferon therapy. Several studies have shown an association of class II alleles with clinical outcome after HCV infection. However, which genes are associated with one outcome or another seems to depend on the ethnicity of the infected. Only spontaneous hepatitis virus clearance has been described as being strong associated with mainly, DQB1*0301 or DRB1*1101, DRB1*1104 alleles.