Distribution of human leucocyte antigen-C in HIV-1-infected patients in Mumbai, India

HIV pathogenesis is known to be highly influenced by host genetic factors, such as human leucocyte antigens (HLAs) HLA-A and HLA-B. However, the role of HLA-C remains largely unexplored. We evaluated HLA-C distribution in 186 HIV-1-infected individuals and compared them to ethnically matched data derived from the Allele Frequency Net Database using Chi-square test with Fisher's exact two-tailed test. The frequency of HLA-C*05 and HLA-C*15 was higher in infected group, whereas the frequency of HLA-C*04 and HLA-C*14 was higher in control group. HLA-C*17, a rare allele, was significantly higher in infected group. These data could be useful in designing and testing vaccines in Indian population.