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MICA and recovery from hepatitis C virus and hepatitis B virus infections

Genes & Immunity volume 5, pages 261–266 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

The polymorphic MHC class I chain-related A (MICA) gene encodes a ligand that has different binding affinities for the NKG2D activating receptor of CD8+ T cells and natural killer (NK) cells. We hypothesized that MICA heterogeneity would affect recovery from hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections. To test the hypothesis, we initially typed known MICA polymorphisms for 228 persons who cleared HCV infection and 442 persons with persistent hepatitis C matched on other factors affecting viral persistence. Although MICA*015 was detected more than two-fold more often in persons with viral clearance (odds ratio 0.36, 95% confidence interval=0.19, 0.80), it occurred in fewer than 5% of the study population. In a similar analysis of 442 persons with chronic hepatitis B and 768 matched controls who recovered, MICA*015 was detected in 2.0% of persons with chronic hepatitis B and only 0.9% of controls. No significant associations were detected with other MICA polymorphisms. While further investigation may reveal a structural basis of the MICA*015 associations, these data provide little support for the hypothesis that differential distribution of MICA alleles substantially affects recovery from HCV and HBV infections.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by NIH Grants DA00441, DA04334, and DA13324. CT was additionally supported, in part, by the Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Diseases Award from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. The Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) is funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, with additional supplemental funding from the National Cancer Institute: UO1-AI-35042, 5-MO1-RR-00722 (GCRC), UO1-AI-35043, UO1-AI-37984, UO1-AI-35039, UO1-AI-35040, UO1-AI-37613, UO1-AI-35041. MHCS is supported by National Cancer Institute contract N01-CP-33002 with Research Triangle Institute. This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, under Contract No. NO1-CO-56000. The publisher or recipient acknowledges rights of the US Government to retain a nonexclusive, royalty-free license in and to any copyright covering the article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA

    P S Karacki & C L Thio

  2. Intramural Research Support Program, Basic Research Program, SAIC Frederick, Frederick, MD, USA

    X Gao, D L Thomas & M Carrington

  3. Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA

    D L Thomas, D Vlahov & S Strathdee

  4. Viral Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD, USA

    J J Goedert

  5. New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    D Vlahov

  6. Department of Epidemiology, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL, USA

    R A Kaslow

  7. Department of Pediatrics, New York Presbyterian Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    M W Hilgartner

  8. Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD, USA

    S J O'Brien

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  1. P S Karacki
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Karacki, P., Gao, X., Thio, C. et al. MICA and recovery from hepatitis C virus and hepatitis B virus infections. Genes Immun 5, 261–266 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.gene.6364065

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