The HLA A2/6802 supertype is associated with reduced risk of perinatal human immunodeficiency virus type 1 transmission.
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.
MacDonald
K S
KS
Departments of Immunology and Medicine, University of Toronto, and Department of Microbiology, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada. kmacdonald@mtsinai.on.ca
Embree
J E
JE
Nagelkerke
N J
NJ
Castillo
J
J
Ramhadin
S
S
Njenga
S
S
Oyug
J
J
Ndinya-Achola
J
J
Barber
B H
BH
Bwayo
J J
JJ
Plummer
F A
FA
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
D015789:HLA-A2 Antigen