Association of HLA- B7, B8, B27 and B51 with Genetic Protection Against Hepatitis B Virus

Abstract

It is generally believed that viral clearance or chronic infection following hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is linked to the genetic background of the host and human leukocyte antigens (HLA) play a central role. This study was conducted
to determine associations between some of HLA class I genes with the outcome of hepatitis B infection. Subjects of this study were 64 individuals who were assigned into two group, case and control, based on their clinical and serologic
profiles. Case group were 27 patients infected with HBV and controls were 37 subjects with HBV natural convalescent who recovered from a HBV infection. Typing of HLA class I was performed by serologic method. No significant difference was found between mean age of control and patient group while the difference in sex of two groups was
significant (P<0.05). The most frequent detected HLA antigens were B51 (40, 1%), B27 (14.1%), B8 (12.5%) and B7 (10.9%). Significant association was found between HBV persistence and HLA-B27. HLA-B27 was associated with an increase in HBV persistence. The findings support the idea that polymorphism of HLA class I may influence the
chronicity of HBV infection.