title: The HLA A2/6802 supertype is associated with reduced risk of perinatal human immunodeficiency virus type 1 transmission.
abstract: Certain HLAs may, in part, account for differences in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) susceptibility by presenting conserved immunogenic epitopes for T cell recognition. The HLA supertype A2/6802 is associated with decreased susceptibility to HIV-1 among sex workers. The alleles in this supertype present the same HIV-1 peptide epitopes for T cell recognition in some cases. This study sought to determine whether the HLA A2/6802 supertype influenced HIV-1 transmission in a prospective cohort of HIV-1-infected mothers and children in Kenya. Decreased perinatal HIV-1 infection risk was strongly associated with possession of a functional cluster of related HLA alleles, called the A2/6802 supertype (odds ratio, 0.12; 95% confidence interval, 0.03-0.54; P=.006). This effect was independent of the protective effect of maternal-child HLA discordance. These data provide further evidence that HLA supertypes are associated with differential susceptibility to HIV-1 transmission.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Immunology and Medicine, University of Toronto, and Department of Microbiology, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada. kmacdonald@mtsinai.on.ca
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: MacDonald
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Embree
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Nagelkerke
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Castillo
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ramhadin
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Njenga
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oyug
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ndinya-Achola
authors.forename: B H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Barber
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Bwayo
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Plummer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000483:Alleles; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005805:Genes, MHC Class I; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000635:transmission*; D015497:HIV-1; D015789:HLA-A2 Antigen / Q000235:genetics*; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000821:virology; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D015789:HLA-A2 Antigen