OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation between HLA class II molecules and the different outcome of viral hepatitis B.
METHODS: Thirty patients with chronic hepatitis B and 56 subjects who had spontaneously recovered from HBV infection in Zhejiang were enrolled in this investigation. HLA class II molecules types and alleles were determined by PCR-ssp.
RESULTS: HLA-DR12 was found in 21 of the 56 subjects (38%) recovered from hepatitis B, compared to 3 of the 30 patients with chronic hepatitis B [10%, relative risk (rr), 0.19; Pcorr<0.025] . The frequency of the allele of HLA-DR12 DRB1*1201 was higher in the subjects recovered from hepatitis B infection (32%) than in the patients with chronic hepatitis B (3%; rr, 0.07; Pcorr<0.005). On the contrary, more HLA-DR9 was detected in the patients with chronic hepatitis B (43%) than in the subjects who recovered from hepatitis B infection (18%; rr, 3.52; Pcorr<0.025). HLA-DQ9 was also detected with a higher frequency in the patients with chronic hepatitis B (43%) than in the subjects who recovered from hepatitis B (20%; rr, 3.13; Pcorr<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: The HLA class II molecule DR12 and its allele DRB1*1201 are associated with protection against chronic hepatitis B in Zhejiang Province, China. HLA-DR9 and DQ9 are associated with chronicity of HBV infection.