Resistant Effect of HLA-DRB1*09 on Hepatitis C Virus Infection Identified by a New Cross-Validation Method.

BACKGROUND: The association of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) with HCV persistence or clearance has not been clarified. We aim to investigate the associations of HLA with HCV infection based on a new cross-validation method.

METHODS: DNA samples from HCV infected patients were collected at random. Sequence based typing (PCR-SBT) was used to detect HLA-A, -B, -DRB1 alleles. The albumin (ALB) levels were detected and compared between the patients carrying the gene and the patients not carrying the gene. The association between the HLA loci and disease status was further confirmed by cross-validation of the two sets of analytical results.

RESULTS: HLA-B*58 and HLA-DRB1*09 showed significant differences in ALB levels between patients with and without the allele (p < 0.05). Only the p-value of the cross-validation for HLA-DRB1*09 was less than 0.05.

CONCLUSIONS: HLA-DRB1*09 has a resistant effect on HCV infection, which is potentially helpful to predict the status of HCV infected patients.