HLA association with active TB

Several HLA allelic variants have been associated with protection from, or susceptibility to infectious and autoimmune diseases. Here, we examined whether specific HLA alleles would be associated with different Mtb infection outcomes. We found that DQA1*03:01, DPB1*04:02, and DRB4*01:01 were signficantly more frequent in inividuals with active TB (susceptibility alleles). Furthermore, individuals who express any of the three susceptibility alleles were associated with lower magnitude of responses against Mtb antigens. We investigated the gene expression changes induced in PBMCs by Mtb lysate and a peptide pool (MTB300) in individuals with or without expression of the susceptibility alleles. Overall design: RNAseq of sorted PBMC from cryopreserved PBMC of IGRA+ individuals with or without the susceptibility alleles.