Influence of host genotype on progression to AIDS among HIV-infected men

To evaluate whether host genotype influences disease progression among persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), molecular techniques were used to determine genotypes at immune response loci for 114 HIV-1-infected homosexual/bisexual white men in the San Francisco Men's Health Study. Candidate genes evaluated were HLA-DQA1 and -DRB1, complement C4A and C4B, alpha- and beta-interferons, and the heavy chain of immunoglobulin gamma 1. Of the 114 men, 29 were asymptomatic, 21 were symptomatic men and AIDS patients (p = 0.02). Specifically, the HLA haplotype DRB1*0702-DQA1*0201 was associated with absence of symptoms (p = 0.003). Conversely, the frequency of the complement C4B-L allele was higher among patients with symptoms or with AIDS than among asymptomatic subjects (p = 0.02). These results suggest that genes in or near the major histocompatibility complex may influence the rate of disease progression among HIV-1-infected men.