Influence of HLA-C Expression Level on HIV Control
Apps R., Qi Y., Carlson JM., Chen H., Gao X., Thomas R., Yuki Y., Del Prete GQ., Goulder P., Brumme ZL., Brumme CJ., John M., Mallal S., Nelson G., Bosch R., Heckerman D., Stein JL., Soderberg KA., Moody MA., Denny TN., Zeng X., Fang J., Moffett A., Lifson JD., Goedert JJ., Buchbinder S., Kirk GD., Fellay J., McLaren P., Deeks SG., Pereyra F., Walker B., Michael NL., Weintrob A., Wolinsky S., Liao W., Carrington M.
Thwarting HIV Multiple genome-wide association studies have revealed that human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes of the major histocompatibility complex locus have the strongest impact on HIV. In particular, a single-nucleotide polymorphism 35 base pairs upstream of HLA-C shows significant association with viral load and protection against HIV. How HLA-C mediates these effects is unknown. Apps et al. (p. 87 ) now demonstrate that increasing surface expression of HLA-C is associated with reduced viral load and reduced rate of progression to low CD4 + T cell counts in African and European Americans. High HLA-C expression likely promoted improved HIV control through a more effective cytotoxic CD8 + T cell response. In contrast to HIV infection, high HLA-C expression was associated with a higher risk of the inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease.