Relationship of HLA-B alleles on susceptibility to and protection from HIV infection in Turkish population

Sule Darbas; Dilara Inan; Yahya Kilinc; Habibe Sema Arslan; Fahri Ucar; Ozaydin Boylubay; Sadi Koksoy; Esvet Mutlu; Burcu Yucel; Nurten Sayin Ekinci

doi:10.14744/nci.2021.00018

Relationship of HLA-B alleles on susceptibility to and protection from HIV infection in Turkish population

North Clin Istanb. 2022 Dec 13;10(1):67-73. doi: 10.14744/nci.2021.00018. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Biology and Genetics, Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine, Antalya, Turkiye.
² Department of Infectious Diseases, Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine, Antalya, Turkiye.
³ Isparta Provincial Health Directorate Central Community Health Center, Isparta, Turkiye.
⁴ Department of Medical Microbiology, Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine, Antalya, Turkiye.
⁵ Department of Medical Biology, Istanbul Medeniyet University Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkiye.

Abstract

Objective: Many human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B alleles are associated with an increased risk of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) progression; however, their distribution varies among different racial/ethnic groups. Abacavir used in the treatment of AIDS significantly increases the risk of hypersensitivity reactions in patients with HLA-B*57:01. The aim of this study was to determine the distribution of HIV-associated HLA-B subgroups (high and low resolution) and HLA-B*57:01 associated with Abacavir sensitivity in Turkiye.

Methods: This retrospective case-control study consisted of 416 (F/M:111/305) HIV positive patients and 416 (F/M:111/305) healthy controls. HLA-B alleles were identified using Luminex based low-resolution method and further subgrouped by sequence-based high-resolution typing.

Results: Our data showed that in patients with HIV-1 infection, HLA-B*15, *35, and *51 allele frequencies were higher, while the HLA-B*07, *14 and *55 allele frequencies were lower as compared to the controls. It was determined that HLA-B*15:01, *35:01, *35:08, and *51:01 alleles frequencies were higher in the patients with HIV-1 infection compared to the controls as HLA-B*07:02, *14:01, *44:01, and *55:01 allele frequencies were detected low. HLA-B*57:01 allele positivity, which is important in Abacavir hypersensitivity, was lower than controls, and this difference was not statistically significant.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that, HLA-B*07, *14, and *55 alleles and HLA-B*07:02, *14:01, *44:01, and *55:01 subgroups might have a protective effect, while HLA-B*15, *35, and *51 alleles and HLA-B*15:01, *35:01, *35:08, and *51:01 subgroups might play a role in susceptibility to HIV-1 infection.

Keywords: Antiretroviral therapy; HIV; HLA-B alleles distribution; hypersensitivity reaction.