Distribution of the <i>HLA</i>Class I Allele in Chronic Hepatitis C and its Association with Serum ALT Level in Chronic Hepatitis C

Distribution of the HLAClass I Allele in Chronic
Hepatitis C and its Association with Serum
ALT Level in Chronic Hepatitis C

YASUTERU KONDO, KOJU KOBAYASHI,¹ TOMOO KOBAYASHI,² MASAAKI SHIINA,³
YOSHIYUKI UENO, TAKAOMI SATOH⁴ and TOORU SHIMOSEGAWA

Department of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai 980-8574,
¹Tohoku University School of Health Sciences, Sendai 980-8575,
²Department of Internal Medicine, Furukawa City Hospital,
Senjujimae-machi, Furukawa 919-6183,
³Department of Gastroenterology, Sendai National Hospital, Sendai 983-0045, and
⁴Center for Renal Disease, Sendai Shakaihoken Hospital, Sendai 981-0912

An essential process for resolution of viral infections is the efficient recognition and elimination of intracellular virus. Recognition of viral antigens in the form of short peptides associated with HLA class I molecule is a major task of CD8⁺ cytotoxic T lymphocytes. In this study, we have evaluated the frequency of the HLA class I alleles in patients with chronic hepatitis C. HLA-B51, -B52, -B55, -B56, -B61, B70, -Cw1, -Cw3, and -Cw4 are less frequent in patients with chronic hepatitis C than in Japanese individuals. The frequency of HLA-A2 is slightly lower in the patients but tends to be higher in patients with normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level than in those with elevated ALT level (p=0.07). Other HLA alleles are not significantly different between two groups. Comparison of HLA homozygosity at HLA-A and -B or -C or at two or three loci did not show a significant association with levels of serum ALT or with the clinical outcome of interferon therapy in patients with hepatitis C. These results suggest a possibility that the alterations of host response, which depends on genetic background, influence disease activities of HCV infection.

keywords —— HLA class I allele; HLA-A2; CTL; cellular immune response; Japanese individuals

===============================

Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2003, 201, 109-117

Address for reprints: Koju Kobayashi, Department of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8574, Japan.

e-mail: kobakoju@mail.tains.tohoku.ac.jp