A single nucleotide polymorphism upstream of the HLA-C locus is associated with an anti-HCV seronegative state in a high-risk exposed cohort.

In this study we examined the impact of the rs9264942 SNP, previously shown to be associated with HIV infection status and HLA-C expression, on the HCV status in 359 people who inject drugs (PWID). The linkage of rs9264942 alleles to HLA-C antigens assigned to different expression levels was confirmed. Multivariate analysis revealed the age (p=0.003) and the rs9264942 genotype (p=0.006) to be independent factors for the classification to the PWID groups. Our study showed that the presence of the rs9264942 C/C genotype was associated with persisted seronegativity.