HLA-C*01:02 and -C*04:03 May Confer Susceptibility to Treponema pallidum Infection in the Chinese Han Population.

Some associations between Treponema pallidum (TP) susceptibility and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) loci at low resolution have been reported. However, the data for TP infection and HLA alleles at high resolution are limited. The purpose of this study was to perform a high-resolution screen for HLA alleles that confer susceptibility to TP infection in the Chinese Han population. A total of 184 individuals with TP infection were included in the study, and 254 unrelated healthy blood donors were included in the control group. The samples were genotyped for the HLA-A, -C, -B, -DRB1, -DQB1 and -DPB1 loci using next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology. The correlations between TP infection and the alleles and haplotypes of HLA loci were determined by statistical analysis. Five HLA alleles, including HLA-A*32:01 (0.00% vs. 1.57%, p = 0.024), -B*52:01 (1.36% vs. 4.13%, p = 0.025), -C*01:02 (22.55% vs. 16.54%, p = 0.029), -C*04:03 (1.63% vs. 0.2%, p = 0.046) and -DQB1*05:03 (1.63% vs. 4.13%, p = 0.046), are potentially associated with TP infection. However, no significant difference was detected after p value correction. The frequency of the HLA-A*33:03-C*03:02-B*58:01-DRB1*03:01-DQB1*02:01-DPB1*05:01 haplotype in the control group was greater than that in the TP infection group (p = 0.002). In contrast, the frequency of the HLA-A*02:07-C*01:02-B*46:01-DRB1*08:03-DQB1*06:01-DPB1*02:01, HLA-A*11:01-C*03:04-B*13:01-DRB1*09:01-DQB1*03:03-DPB1*05:01, HLA-A*11:01-C*07:02-B*40:01-DRB1*08:03-DQB1*06:01-DPB1*02:01 and HLA-A*30:01-C*06:02-B*13:02-DRB1*07:01-DQB1*02:02-DPB1*02:01 haplotypes were lower in the control group than in the TP infection group (p < 0.05). HLA-C*01:02 and -C*04:03 may confer susceptibility to TP infection, whereas A*32:01, -B*52:01 and -DQB1*05:03 may protect against TP infection. These data are helpful in preventing and controlling TP transmission.