HLA Class II alleles and association with HPV Infection prevalence in high-risk HPV-positive Han women in southern China
To investigate the prevalence of different human papillomavirus (HPV) subtypes and their association with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II alleles in China. A total of 16,168 married Chinese women in Maoming City of Guangdong province were tested for high-risk HPV infection. High-resolution typing of HLA-DRB1/DQB1 alleles was also performed on samples found to be infected with HPV. All in all, HPV-52, -58, -16, -18, and -53 were the five most common subtypes of HPV, with an incidence of high-risk HPV infection of 7.14%. Among women at high-risk of HPV infection, -DRB1*0403 (3.12% vs. 1.67%, odds ratio [OR] 1.894), -DQB1*0602 (3.74% vs. 1.82%, OR 2.094), and -DQB1*0609 (2.02% vs. 0.91%, OR 2.249) frequencies were higher than in controls. In contrast, -DQB1*0402 (0.31% vs. 1.29%, OR 0.239) in women with high-risk HPV infection exhibited a significantly decreased frequency compared to the controls. Our results strongly support previous findings from other populations that -DRB1*0403 and -DQB1*0602 may be risk factors for HPV infection and subsequent development of cervical cancer. Moreover, unlike the European population, -DQB1*0402 may protect rather than render Maoming women susceptible to HPV infection.