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The Association of Human Leukocyte Antigen and COVID-19 in Southern China
Xueping Yu1, Kuoting Ho2,3, Zhongliang Shen4
1Department of Infectious Disease, The First Hospital of Quanzhou, affiliated to Fujian Medical University, Quanzhou, Fujian, China.
Insights
Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) variations influence infectious disease immunity. Specific HLA alleles, HLA-B*15:27 and HLA-DRB1*04:06, were linked to increased susceptibility to coronavirus disease 2019 in China.
Area of Science:
- Immunogenetics
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Background:
- Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene polymorphism is crucial for immune responses.
- Understanding HLA associations with infectious diseases can reveal immune evasion mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between specific HLA alleles and susceptibility to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a Chinese population.
- To explore the potential molecular mechanisms underlying HLA-associated COVID-19 susceptibility.
Main Methods:
- Case-control study comparing HLA allele frequencies in COVID-19 patients and control groups.
- Bioinformatic analysis to predict the binding affinity of identified HLA alleles to viral proteins.
Main Results:
- The HLA-B*15:27 and HLA-DRB1*04:06 alleles were significantly associated with increased COVID-19 susceptibility in the studied Chinese population.
- These specific HLA alleles exhibited predicted weak binding affinities to key viral proteins, suggesting impaired antigen presentation.
Conclusions:
- Specific HLA alleles, namely HLA-B*15:27 and HLA-DRB1*04:06, are associated with COVID-19 susceptibility in China.
- Weak binding affinity of these HLA alleles to viral proteins may contribute to reduced immune surveillance and increased susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Abstract:
Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) polymorphism is hypothesized to be associated with diverse immune responses toward infectious diseases. Herein, by comparing against multiple subpopulation groups as control, we confirmed that HLA-B*15:27 and HLA-DRB1*04:06 were associated with coronavirus disease 2019 susceptibility in China. Both alleles were predicted to have weak binding affinities toward viral proteins.
