KIR2DL3 and the KIR ligand groups HLA-A-Bw4 and HLA-C2 predict the outcome of hepatitis B virus infection

Abstract

Killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) regulate the activation of Natural Killer cells through their interaction with human leukocyte antigens (HLA). KIR and HLA loci are highly polymorphic and certain HLA-KIR combinations have been found to protect against viral infections. In this study we analyzed whether the KIR/HLA repertoire may influence the course of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Fifty-seven subjects with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), 44 subjects with resolved HBV infection, and 60 healthy uninfected controls (HC) were genotyped for KIR and their HLA ligands. The frequency of the HLA-A-Bw4 ligand group was higher in CHB (58%) than subjects with resolved infection (23%) (crude OR, 4.67; P< 0.001), and HC (10%) (crude OR,12.38; P< 0.001). Similar results were obtained for the HLA-C2 ligand group, more frequent in CHB (84%), than subjects with resolved infection (70%) (crude OR, 2.24; P< 0.10), and HC (60%) (crude OR, 3.56; P< 0.01). Conversely, the frequency of KIR2DL3 was lower in CHB (81%) than in subjects with resolved infection (98%) (crude OR,0.10; P< 0.05). These results suggest a detrimental role of HLA-A-Bw4 and HLA-C2 groups, which are associated with the development of CHB, and a protective role of KIR2DL3. A stepwise variable selection procedure, based on multiple logistic regression analysis, identified these three predictive variables as the most relevant, featuring high specificity (90.9%), and positive predictive value (87.5%) for the development of CHB. Our results suggest that a combination of KIR/HLA gene/alleles is able to predict the outcome of HBV infection. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Tutti gli autori

  • DI BONA D.;MACCHIA L.;CAIAFFA M.F.;BILANCIA M.;RUBINO R.

Titolo volume/Rivista

Non Disponibile


Anno di pubblicazione

2017

ISSN

1352-0504

ISBN

Non Disponibile


Numero di citazioni Wos

Nessuna citazione

Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

Non Disponibile


Numero di citazioni Scopus

14

Ultimo Aggiornamento Citazioni

Non Disponibile


Settori ERC

Non Disponibile

Codici ASJC

Non Disponibile