HLA-DQB1*06 and Select Neighboring HLA Variants Predict Chlamydia Reinfection Risk.

Associations of HLA class II alleles with genital chlamydial infection outcomes have been reported, especially HLA DQB1*06 . However, the potential role of DQB1*06 in influencing reinfection risk has still not been established. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the association of DQB1*06 with chlamydia reinfection was impacted by any other nearby HLA class II variants that were also associated with reinfection. We used next-generation sequencing to map HLA class II variants spanning the HLA-DQ and - DR loci. DQB1*06 as well as DQB1*04 were confirmed as significant predictors of chlamydia reinfection, when controlling for age and percent African ancestry. SKAT analysis revealed one region each in DRB1 , DRB5 , DQA2 , and three intergenic regions that had variants associated with reinfection. Further analyses of these variants revealed that rs112651494 within DRB5 and an intergenic SNP rs617058 in DRB1 : DQA1 were significantly associated with reinfection, but this did not impact the significance of the association of DQB1*06 or DQB1*04 with reinfection.