HLA-B*46 associates with rapid HIV disease progression in Asian cohorts and prominent differences in NK cell phenotype

In an unbiased transcriptomic screen we observed reduced NK cell activation phenotypes in HLA-B*46 positive people with HIV. These findings show that contemporaneous treated cohorts can be used to analyze host genetic effects in HIV disease, and support a role for NK cells in HIV control revealed by unique properties of the recombinant HLA-B*46 allele which is frequent only in Asia. Overall design: Gene expression profiles of immune cell subtypes at different timepoints in the course of HIV-1 infection