Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

<<< OBJECTIVES >>> The association between Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) alleles, haplotypes and genotypes and HPV period prevalence, persistence, and Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions (SILs) in a cohort of Inuit women in Nunavik, Quebec will be investigated. The HLA complex, which is a set of genes involved in the identification of foreign antigens and activation of the immune system, has been proposed as a possible co-factor in HPV infections. <<< METHOD >>> A cohort of 548 Inuit women seeking routine care and living in four different communities of Nunavik, Quebec was assembled. Cervical specimens were taken at each visit and tested for HPV-DNA. HPV genotypes were classified by alpha-papillomavirus species: alpha group 1 includes low risk (LR) cervical species, group 2 includes high risk (HR) cervical species, and group 3 includes LR vaginal species. The HLA alleles were typed using DNA extracted from cervical samples taken at cohort entry. All odds ratios were adjusted for age. <<< RESULTS >>> HLA-G*010102 was associated with a significantly decreased risk of overall (OR=0.64 95% CI=0.42-0.98) HPV period prevalence. HLA-G*010101 (and its homozygous and heterozygous genotypes) were associated with an increased risk of LR alpha groups 1 and 3. The homozygous HLA-G*010401 genotype was associated with a decreased risk of LR alpha group 3 infection. No HLA alleles, haplotypes or genotypes were significantly associated with HPV persistence. The HLA-DRB1*13 allele was associated with an increased risk of any SIL and LGSIL. <<< IMPLICATIONS AND IMPACT >>> Several alleles (G*010101, G*010102, and G*010401) were significantly associated with HPV period prevalence, but no alleles were significantly associated with HPV persistence, which suggests that HLA polymorphisms may play a greater role in the acquisition of an HPV infection rather than virus clearance.