Affiliation:
1. Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center Haikou Hainan China
2. NHC Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control，School of Tropical Medicine Hainan Medical University Haikou Hainan China
3. Priority Area Chronic Lung Diseases, Research Center Borstel Borstel Germany
Abstract
AbstractAntigen presentation by HLA class II molecules to CD4+ T cells is an essential step for generating antibodies to hepatitis B antigens. In this study, we investigated the association between the HLA‐DRB1 gene and the status of antibodies to hepatitis B surface and e antigens. Our results revealed a significant association between the status of anti‐HBsAg and HLA‐DRB1*04:03 (OR = 4.11, 95% CI = 1.50–10.84, p = 0.005, Padj. = 0.05) as well as HLA‐DRB1*15:01 (OR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.20–2.50, p = 0.002, Padj. = 0.045). MHC II binding predictions and in silico docking demonstrated strong binding affinity of HBsAg peptides to these two HLA‐DRB1 molecules. Conversely, the status of anti‐HBeAg was inversely associated with HLA‐DRB1*14:54 (OR = 0.34, 95% CI = 0.18–0.64, p = 0.001, Padj. = 0.011), and in silico analysis revealed weak binding affinity of HBeAg peptides to HLA‐DRB1*14:54. In conclusion, these findings support the involvement of HLA‐DRB1 in humoral immunity against HBV infection.
Funder
National Natural Science Foundation of China