Association of HLA-DP variants with the responsiveness to Hepatitis B virus vaccination in Korean Infants

Recently, HLA-DP single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been reported to be related to responsiveness to hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between HLA-DP SNPs and responsiveness to HBV vaccine in Korean infants. A total of 290 healthy Korean infants who were registered to Seoul Metropolitan Public Cord Blood Bank during the period of February 2007 to December 2011 were enrolled. Anti-HBs antibody level was analyzed after three doses of HBV vaccination. Genotyping of HLA-DPA1 SNPs (rs3077 and rs3830066) and HLA-DPB1 SNPs (rs7770370, rs7770501, rs3128961, and rs9277535) were performed by PCR-sequencing. HLA-A, -B, and -DRB1 genotyping was also performed by PCR-sequence-specific oligonucleotide probe kits. HLA-DPB1 SNPs (rs7770370, rs7770501, rs3128961, and rs9277535) were associated with HBV vaccine response. Allele frequencies of rs7770370 A, rs7770501 C, rs3128961 G, and rs9277535 A were significantly higher in responders than in non-responders (all p < 0.01). Anti-HBs antibody levels were different according to genotypes of DPB1 rs7770370, rs7770501, rs3128961, and rs9277535 (all p < 0.01). In multivariate analysis, HLA-DPB1 rs7770370 AA genotype was significantly associated with HBV vaccine response (relative risk, RR = 2.5, p = 0.033) and high-titer vaccine response (RR = 2.7, p < 0.001). In conclusion, HLA-DPB1 SNPs were significantly associated with responses to HBV vaccination in Korean infants.