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Infants born to HBV carrier mothers are persistently at a higher risk for HBV infection. We investigated the association between HLA SNPs and low responsiveness to HBV vaccination, and the differences of immune response in carriers of risk genotypes who received different doses of the vaccination. 1040 infants from the prevention of mother-to-infant transmission of HBV cohort were included. Infants born to HBsAg (+) and HBeAg (−)/HBeAg (+) mothers received 10 μg/20 μg hepatitis B vaccine, respectively. Rs2857127, rs3135338, rs477515, rs9277554 and rs9286790 in HLA regions were well genotyped. A lower rate of low-responsiveness was observed in the 20 μg group. Rs3135338 GG and rs9277554 TT genotype showed stronger associations with low responsiveness ( P  < 0.05). The combination of 10 μg vaccine with the risk genotypes was independently associated with remarkably increased risk of low-responsiveness to hepatitis B vaccines ( P  < 0.05). HLA SNPs were associated with low-responsiveness to hepatitis B vaccine. For infants with risk genotypes, a 20 μg dose vaccine reduced the risk of low responsiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the dinucleotide variant ss469415590 (TT/ΔG) in a novel gene, interferon lambda 4 ( IFNL4 ), was identified as a stronger predictor of hepatitis C virus (HCV) clearance in individuals of African ancestry compared with rs12979860. We aimed to determine whether this variant contributes to treatment decisions in a Chinese population. A total of 447 chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients (including 328 treated with interferon alpha-2b and ribavirin), 129 individuals who had spontaneously cleared HCV (SHC), and 169 healthy controls were retrospectively investigated. ss469415590 genotyping was performed using a mass spectrometry method (SEQUENOM). A higher proportion of SHC individuals carried the TT/TT genotype compared with CHC patients (95.3% vs. 88.8%, P = 0.027). In patients with HCV genotype 1b, the ss469415590 variant was independently associated with sustained virologic response (SVR) (odds ratio [OR] = 3.247, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.038–10.159, P = 0.043) and on-treatment virological responses, including rapid (RVR), complete early (cEVR), early (EVR), and end-of-treatment (ETVR), with a minimal OR of 3.73. Especially for patients with high viral load (≥ 4 × 10 5 IU/ml), ΔG allele carriers had a lower chance of achieving SVR compared with those carrying the TT/TT genotype (7.1% vs. 36.0%, P = 0.034, OR [95% CI] = 7.24 [1.02–318.45], negative predictive value = 92.9%). In patients with HCV genotype 2a, no significant association between the ss154949590 variant and the virological response was identified ( P > 0.05). Additionally, we found that ss154949590 was in complete linkage disequilibrium with rs12979860. In conclusion, the IFNL4 ss154949590 TT/TT genotype favors spontaneous clearance of HCV. This same variant is associated with treatment-induced clearance in patients with genotype 1b, but not 2a. ss469415590 (or rs12979860) genotyping should be considered for patients with HCV genotype 1b and high viral load when making a choice between standard dual therapy and an IFN-free direct-acting antiviral regimen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]