Possession of HLA Class II DRB1*1303 Associates with Reduced Viral Loads in Chronic HIV-1 Clade C and B Infection

Author:

Julg, B.

Moodley, E. S.

Qi, Y.

Ramduth, D.

Reddy, S.

Mncube, Z.

Gao, X. J.

Goulder, P. J.

Detels, R.

Ndung'u, T.

Walker, B. D.

Carrington, M.
Author Address

[Qi, Ying; Gao, Xiaojiang; Carrington, Mary] NCI Frederick, Canc & Inflammat Program, Expt Immunol Lab, SAIC Frederick, Frederick, MD 21702 USA. [Julg, Boris; Moodley, Eshia S.; Ramduth, Danni; Reddy, Shabashini; Mncube, Zenele; Goulder, Philip J.; Ndung'u, Thumbi; Walker, Bruce D.] Univ KwaZulu Natal, Doris Duke Med Res Inst, HIV Pathogenesis Programme, Durban, South Africa. [Julg, Boris; Moodley, Eshia S.; Ramduth, Danni; Reddy, Shabashini; Mncube, Zenele; Goulder, Philip J.; Ndung'u, Thumbi; Walker, Bruce D.] Univ KwaZulu Natal, KwaZulu Natal Res Inst TB & HIV, Durban, South Africa. [Julg, Boris; Goulder, Philip J.; Ndung'u, Thumbi; Walker, Bruce D.; Carrington, Mary] Ragon Inst MGH MIT & Harvard, Boston, MA USA. [Detels, Roger] Univ Calif Los Angeles, Sch Publ Hlth, Los Angeles, CA 90024 USA. [Detels, Roger] Univ Calif Los Angeles, Sch Med, Los Angeles, CA 90024 USA. [Walker, Bruce D.] Howard Hughes Med Inst, Chevy Chase, MD USA. [Goulder, Philip J.] Univ Oxford, Dept Pediat, Oxford, England.;Carrington, M, NCI Frederick, Canc & Inflammat Program, Expt Immunol Lab, SAIC Frederick, Bldg 560,Room 21-89,Miller Dr, Frederick, MD 21702 USA.;carringm@mail.nih.gov

Abstract:

Methods.In this study we investigated the effect of HLA class II alleles on HIV disease outcome and HIV-specific T cell responses in a cohort of 426 antiretroviral therapy-naive, HIV-1 clade C-infected, predominantly female black South Africans. Results.The HLA class II allele DRB1*1303 was independently associated with lower plasma viral loads in this population (P = .02), an association that was confirmed in a second cohort of 1436 untreated, HIV-1 clade B-infected, male European Americans, suggesting that DRB1*1303-mediated protection is independent of ethnicity, sex, and viral clade. Interestingly, DRB1*1303 carriage was not associated with an increased frequency of interferon (IFN) gamma-positive HIV-specific CD4(+) T cell responses. Conclusions.These data demonstrate the independent effect of an HLA class II allele, DRB1*1303, on HIV disease progression, in the absence of increased IFN-gamma-positive HIV-specific CD4(+) T cell frequencies, suggesting that the protective activity of DRB1*1303 may be mediated via an alternative mechanism.

See More

Author Address