Elsevier

Journal of Hepatology

Volume 30, Issue 6, June 1999, Pages 979-983
Journal of Hepatology

Association of the HLA-DRB1*01 allele with spontaneous viral clearance in an Irish cohort infected with hepatitis C virus via contaminated anti-D immunoglobulin

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-8278(99)80249-9Get rights and content

Abstract

Background/Aims: The host's immune response may influence the course of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The aim of this study was to examine the distribution of HLA Class II DRB1* alleles in a homogeneous cohort of individuals who were infected with HCV-contaminated anti-D immunoglobulin, and to compare frequencies of alleles in individuals with spontaneous viral clearance to those with chronic HCV infection.

Methods: HLA DRB1* typing was performed on whole blood or serum from 157 females. Of these, 73 had spontaneously recovered from infection (persistently HCV RNA negative), while 84 had chronic HCV infection (persistently HCV RNA positive). A group of 5000 healthy bone marrow donors served as a control population.

Results: No significant differences were observed between individuals with spontaneous viral clearance or chronic HCV infection for age, sex, alcohol consumption, source or duration of infection. The DRB1*01 allele was found significantly more frequently in individuals with viral clearance compared to those with chronic infection (27.4% vs. 7.1%p=0.001, odds ratio OR=4.9, pc=0.01). No significant association was shown between severity of liver disease and DRB1* alleles.

Conclusions: DRB1*01 is associated with spontaneous viral clearance in an Irish cohort infected with HCV via contaminated anti-D immunoglobulin. HLA-DRB1* genes do not appear to influence severity of liver disease. These results suggest that host HLA-DRB1* alleles are important contributors to disease outcome.

Section snippets

Study population

One hundred and fifty-seven Irish women referred from 1994 to date from the BTSB were evaluated. All individuals had been previously identified in a“look back” program by the BTSB as having received HCV-infected anti-D immunoglobulin for rhesus incompatibility from infected batches in 1977 (HCV genotype 1) or in 1991 (HCV genotype 3) (17).

The 157 patients were divided into two groups. The first group comprised 73 patients considered to have spontaneous self-limited HCV infection defined as

Results

A total of 157 females who received HCV-contaminated anti-D were typed for HLA DRB1* alleles. Of these, 73 women had spontaneous self-limited HCV infection (Group 1) while 84 had chronic HCV infection (Group 2). A comparison of the main clinical and virological characteristics of individuals in Group 1 and Group 2 are shown in Table 1. Comparisons of HLA DRB1* allele frequency between Group 1 and 2, Group 1 and controls, Group 2 and controls are shown in Table 2, and between the whole

Discussion

In the present study, the influence of HLA Class II DRB1* alleles on disease outcome, in particular viral clearance, was examined in a group of otherwise healthy women who were infected with HCV via contaminated anti-D immunoglobulin. Seventy-three females from this unique cohort had spontaneous viral clearance and this constitutes the largest group with viral clearance to be examined to date for HLA Class II DRB1* allele status. In this study, a significant association was found between the

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge Dr. Derek Middleton of the Northern Ireland Tissue Typing Laboratory who kindly provided data on frequencies of HLA DRB1* alleles in the control population and Ms. Barbara Coughlan for helpful statistical advice.

This research was supported through a project grant from the Health Research Board in Ireland.

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