Minimal association of alleles of human leukocyte antigen class II gene and long-term antibody response to hepatitis B vaccine vaccinated during infancy

- Role of HLA class II gene variants in anti-HBs response to vaccine was studied.
- 10 alleles in HLA subregions were analyzed in 297 children 5-7 years after vaccination.
- None of the 10 HLA class II alleles was associated with long-term anti-HBs response levels.

BackgroundThe human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system plays critical roles in regulating immune responses to various vaccines. This study aimed to evaluate the association of HLA class II gene polymorphisms and the long-term duration of anti-HBs response in children vaccinated against hepatitis B during infancy.MethodsTotally 297 children 5-7 years after the completion of primary vaccination against hepatitis B in infancy, without booster immunization or natural resolved infection, were enrolled. Of them, 86 children with anti-HBs <10 mIU/ml were considered as long-term non- or hypo-responders, and 211 others with anti-HBs ≥10 mIU/ml were defined as long-term responders. Ten alleles in HLA-DR and -DQ subregions were detected by polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers.ResultsThe frequency of HLA-DQB1∗0401 was 15.1% in the long-term non- or hypo-responder group, relatively higher than 7.6% in the long-term responder group (OR = 2.17, 95% CI 1.01-4.73), however, the difference had no statistical significance after Bonferroni correction (P = 0.470). The frequencies of seven HLA-DRB1 alleles, including ∗01, ∗03, ∗04, ∗07, ∗08, ∗11, and ∗1301/1302, and two HLA-DQB1 alleles, including ∗0201 and ∗0501, were each similarly distributed in the long-term non- or hypo-responders and responders respectively.ConclusionNone of the ten HLA class II gene alleles previously reported to be related with short-term antibody response to hepatitis B vaccine is associated with the long-term antibody response after vaccination during infantile.