Genetic polymorphisms of the HLA-DP and HLA-DQ genes could influence Hepatitis B virus infection in Yunnan population.

ABSTRACT

Hepatitis B, caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, is one of the epidemic and infectious hepatitis diseases. The sigle-nucleotide polymorphisms were identified to associate with HBV infection in East Asian population by genome-wide association study (GWAS), but no study in Yunnan HBV population was reported. We recruited 493 HBV patients and 460 general controls to genotype 7 GWAS SNPs, and then, the association study was performed between these SNPs and biochemical features of HBV patients. The results showed that genotype and allele frequencies of SNPs in the HLA-DP (rs3077, 9277535, and 3128917) and HLA-DQ (rs2856718 and 7453920) genes were associated with HBV infection. Significantly different genotyping frequencies were investigated among three HBV subgroups. Genotype AA of rs3130542 (HLA-C) showed significantly higher frequency in subgroup #1 patients than the other two subgroups (#1 vs. #2, p = .02; #1 vs. #3, p = .03). Meanwhile, genotype frequencies of rs3077, rs9277535, and 3128917 (HLA-DP) were significantly different between patients in subgroup #2 and #3. The indirect bilirubin level was significantly lower in patients with genotype CT of rs3077 than patients with genotype CC (p = .009) or TT (p = .016), and it also showed lower level in patients with genotype GT of rs3128917 than patients with genotype GG (p = .015). The direct bilirubin level was higher in patients with genotype TT of rs4821116 (UBE2L3) than patients with genotype CT (p = .010). In summary, we identified the association between GWAS SNPs and HBV infection or biochemical features in Yunnan HBV population.