HLA class I and II polymorphisms in Mexican Mestizo patients with dengue fever

Host genetics in dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) pathophysiology has not been extensively investigated. Most studies have focused on HLA in different populations; however these reported associations have not been replicated. We performed a case-control study to analyze possible associations of HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-Cw, HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 alleles with clinical disease severity caused by dengue virus infection. Our population consisted of 39 individuals (DF: 23, DHF: 16) and 34 healthy controls from the State of Morelos, Mexico. HLA loci were genotyped by nucleotide sequencing method. Statistical analyses revealed associations in three alleles: HLA-B*35 was negatively associated with symptomatic disease (p < 1 × 10⁻⁴, p_c = 0.01, OR = 0.12, 95%CI = 0.037-0.39), and DF (p = 0.0007, p_c = 0.03, OR = 0.13, 95%CI = 0.031-0.51). HLA-DQB1*0302 was positively associated with DHF (p = 0.018, p_c = NS, OR = 5.02, 95%CI = 1.05-25.34), and negatively with DF (p = 0.011, p_c = NS, OR = 0.23, 95%CI = 0.06-0.84). HLA-DQB1*0202 was positively associated with DF only (p = 0.012, p_c = NS, OR = 7.0, 95%CI = 1.11-73.8). We identified possible associations of HLA-B and HLA-DQB1 alleles with the risk of developing symptomatic disease, DF and DHF in a Mexican Mestizo population.