[Class I histocompatibility antigens as markers of human susceptibility to influenza A viruses]

The results of many years' studies of HLA-phenotypes in human beings with various susceptibility to influenza infection are presented. Some histocompatibility class I antigens are revealed to correlate moderately with the risk of reinfection and the recurrent course of influenza, as well as with the severity of pulmonary complications and with the inclination of a macroorganism to the latent carriage of viral proteins. The specific features of a humoral immune response to vaccination with attenuated influenza viruses in human beings with HLA-B8 are demonstrated. The authors indicate that there is a trend towards less pronounced manifestations of influenza infection in individuals with antigen-markers A9, B40, characteristic of a Mongoloid population, which might be related to the origin of influenza viruses.