title: HLA-B*44 is associated with a lower viral set point and slow CD4 decline in a cohort of Chinese homosexual men acutely infected with HIV-1.
abstract: HLA class I alleles have been shown to have differential impacts on the viral load and the outcome of HIV-1 disease progression. In this study, HLA class I types from residents of China with acute HIV-1 infection, diagnosed between 2006 and 2011, were identified and the association between expression of individual HLA alleles and the level of the set point viral load was analyzed. A lower level of set point viral load was found to be associated with the Bw4 homozygote on HLA-B alleles. B*44 and B*57 alleles have also been found to be associated with lower set point viral load. The set point viral load of B*44-positive individuals homozygous for Bw4 was significantly lower than that of B*44-negative individuals homozygous for Bw4 (P = 0.030). The CD4 count declined to <350 in fewer B*44-positive individuals than B*44-negative individuals (X(2) = 7.295, P = 0.026). B*44-positive individuals had a lower magnitude of p24 pool-specific T cell responses than B*44-negative individuals homozygous for Bw4, though this was not statistically significant. The p24 pool-specific T cell responses were also inversely correlated with lower viral load (rs = -0.88, P = 0.033). Six peptides within p24 were recognized to induce the specific-T cell response in B*44-positive individuals, and the peptide breadth of response was same as that in B*44-negative individuals homozygous for Bw4, but the median magnitude of specific-T cell responses to the recognized peptides in B*44-positive individuals was lower than that in B*44-negative individuals homozygous for Bw4 (P = 0.049). These findings imply that weak p24-specific CD8(+) T cell responses might play an important role in the control of HIV viremia in B*44 allele-positive individuals. Such studies might contribute to the development of future therapeutic strategies that take into account the genetic background of the patients.
authors.affiliation: Infection and Immunity Research Center of Beijing Youan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: XiaoJie
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: WeiHua
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Tong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: XiaoNing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: HuiPing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D002681:China; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D059948:HLA-B44 Antigen / Q000276:immunology*; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019562:Viral Load; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D059948:HLA-B44 Antigen