Role of HLA-B7, B8, B27, and B51 in Protection aga.inst Hepatitis B Virus Infection

Background: it has been argued that unprecedented degree ofhuman leukocyte antigen (hla) loci polymorphism within apopulation is required to avoid the devastating effects of infectiousdiseases. the present study was conducted to determinethe associations between some of hla class i genes and theoutcome of hepatitis b virus (hby) infection.methods: using sequential sampling method, 64 individualswere selected and categorized into two groups according totheir clinical and serological profiles . the patients in the casegroup were 27 patients with chronic hby infection and thecontrols were 37 individuals considered as hby natural convalescentwho recovered from hby infection . antibodiesagainst hbsag (anti-hbs) and hepatitis b core antigen (antihbc)were assessed to exclude primary hby infection. individualswith viral clearance were positive for anti-hbs andanti-hbc without the presence of hbsag at two time points.hla typing was performed by serological method. collecteddata were analyzed by spss software version 13.results: the most frequent hla antigens among the studiedsubjects were b51 (40 . 1%), b27 (14 .1%), b8 (12.5%), andb7 (10.9%). a significant correlation was found betweenhby persistence and hla-b27 (p <0.05). the associationbetween other hlas (hla 7, 8, 57) with hby clearance wasnot significant. the two studied groups were statistically differentin sex but not in age.conclusion: findings of the present study demonstrated an associationbetween hla class i and outcome of hey infectionwhere hla b27 was linked to an increase in hey persistence.these findings support the hypothesis that hla class i-restrictedcytotoxic t cells play an important role in hby chronicity.