Association of human leukocyte antigen haplotypes with clearance and persistence of hepatitis B virus infection in northeastern China.

This study investigated clinical implications of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) I and II haplotypes, in combination with HBV sub-genotype C2, in hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections in northeastern China. Here, HLA haplotypes of 230 HBV-infected patients were compared to 210 healthy, unrelated Han individuals. Of the 230 HBV-infected patients, 54 had acute self-limited hepatitis (ASH) with sub-genotype C2 (ASH-C2), 144 had chronic hepatitis (CH) with sub-genotypes C2 and B2 (CH-C2 and CH-B2), and 32 spontaneously recovered without sub-genotype results. All groups underwent HLA typing and haplotype analysis. The results revealed that A02-DRB112 and A02-B15-DRB109 carriers were susceptible to HBV infection. A02-B15-DRB109 is probably associated with acute onset and viral clearance and A02-DRB112, with viral persistence. In HBV infections, B40-DRB112 was associated with HBV persistence, whereas B46-DRB109, A24-DRB114, and B15-DRB104 carriers easily recovered from the disease. By contrast, when infected with the HBV-C2 sub-genotype, A24-DRB114, B15-DRB104, A02-B15, A02-DRB115, and A02-B15-DRB1*09 carriers displayed an acute clinical course before recovery. This study reveals a relationship between HLA haplotypes and HBV pathogenesis, thereby providing potential therapeutic targets to treat HBV infection.