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

• Published in: Northern Clinics of Istanbul 2023-01, Vol.10 (1), p.67-73
• Main Authors: Darbas, Sule, Inan, Dilara, Kilinc, Yahya, Arslan, Habibe Sema, Ucar, Fahri, Boylubay, Ozaydin, Koksoy, Sadi, Mutlu, Esvet, Yucel, Burcu, Ekinci, Nurten Sayin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abacavir; Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; AIDS; Allelomorphism; Antigens; Antiviral agents; Development and progression; Disease susceptibility; Health aspects; Highly active antiretroviral therapy; Histocompatibility antigens; HIV; HIV (Viruses); HIV infection; HIV patients; HLA histocompatibility antigens; Human immunodeficiency virus; Immune system; Infections; Leukocytes; Minority & ethnic groups; Original
• ISSN: 2148-4902; 2536-4553
• DOI: 10.14744/nci.2021.00018

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. 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. 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. 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.