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Early peanut introduction wins over the HLA-DQA1*01:02 allele in the interplay between environment and genetics

ABSTRACT: The rising incidence of food allergy in children underscores the importance of environmental exposures; however, genetic factors play a major role. How the environment and genetics interact to cause food allergy remains unclear. The landmark Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) clinical trial established that early peanut introduction protects high-risk infants, consistent with the tolerizing effects of gut exposure. In this issue of the JCI, Kanchan et al. leveraged the LEAP trial data to examine molecular genetic mechanisms of early sensitization. A previously identified HLA risk allele for peanut allergy (DQA1*01:02) was associated with peanut-specific IgG4 levels in consumers. Notably, IgG4 antibodies likely provide protection by reducing the binding of allergen to IgE. The association of the same allele with peanut allergy in avoiders while potentially conferring protection in consumers reinforces the need to integrate genetic information toward a personalized therapeutic strategy for the best outcome in addressing food allergies.

SUBMITTER: Manohar M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8718134 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was announced as an outbreak by the World Health Organization (WHO) in January 2020 and as a pandemic in March 2020. The majority of infected individuals have experienced no or only mild symptoms, ranging from fully asymptomatic cases to mild pneumonic disease. However, a minority of infected individuals develop severe respiratory symptoms. The objective of this study was to identify susceptible HLA alleles and clinical markers that can be used in risk prediction model for the early identification of severe COVID-19 among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. A total of 137 patients with mild COVID-19 (mCOVID-19) and 53 patients with severe COVID-19 (sCOVID-19) were recruited from the Center Hospital of the National Center for Global Health and Medicine (NCGM), Tokyo, Japan for the period of February-August 2020. High-resolution sequencing-based typing for eight HLA genes was performed using next-generation sequencing. In the HLA association studies, HLA-A*11:01:01:01 [Pc = 0.013, OR = 2.26 (1.27-3.91)] and HLA-C*12:02:02:01-HLA-B*52:01:01:02 [Pc = 0.020, OR = 2.25 (1.24-3.92)] were found to be significantly associated with the severity of COVID-19. After multivariate analysis controlling for other confounding factors and comorbidities, HLA-A*11:01:01:01 [P = 3.34E-03, OR = 3.41 (1.50-7.73)], age at diagnosis [P = 1.29E-02, OR = 1.04 (1.01-1.07)] and sex at birth [P = 8.88E-03, OR = 2.92 (1.31-6.54)] remained significant. The area under the curve of the risk prediction model utilizing HLA-A*11:01:01:01, age at diagnosis, and sex at birth was 0.772, with sensitivity of 0.715 and specificity of 0.717. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first article that describes associations of HLA alleles with COVID-19 at the 4-field (highest) resolution level. Early identification of potential sCOVID-19 could help clinicians prioritize medical utility and significantly decrease mortality from COVID-19.

Project description:BackgroundAn inefficient immune response against Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is related to the pathogenesis of a subgroup of classical Hodgkin lymphomas (cHL). Some EBV immune-evasion mechanisms target HLA presentation, including the non-classical HLA-E molecule. HLA-E can be recognized by T cells via the TCR, and it also regulates natural killer (NK) cell signaling through the inhibitory CD94/NKG2A receptor. Some evidences indicate that EBV-infected B-cells promote the proliferation of NK subsets bearing CD94/NKG2A, suggesting a relevant function of these cells in EBV control. Variations in CD94/NKG2A-HLA-E interactions could affect NK cell-mediated immunity and, consequently, play a role in EBV-driven transformation and lymphomagenesis. The two most common HLA-E alleles, E*01:01 and E*01:03, differ by a single amino acid change that modifies the molecule function. We hypothesized that the functional differences in these variants might participate in the pathogenicity of EBV.AimWe studied two series of cHL patients, both with EBV-positive and-negative cases, and a cohort of unrelated controls, to assess the impact of HLA-E variants on EBV-related cHL susceptibility.ResultsWe found that the genotypes with at least one copy of E*01:01 (i.e., E*01:01 homozygous and heterozygous) were underrepresented among cHL patients from both series compared to controls (72.6% and 71.6% vs 83%, p = 0.001). After stratification by EBV status, we found low rates of E*01:01-carriers mainly among EBV-positive cases (67.6%). These reduced frequencies are seen independently of other factors such as age, gender, HLA-A*01 and HLA-A*02, HLA alleles positively and negatively associated with the disease (adjusted OR = 0.4, p = 0.001). Furthermore, alleles from both HLA loci exert a cumulative effect on EBV-associated cHL susceptibility.ConclusionsThese results indicate that E*01:01 is a novel protective genetic factor in EBV-associated cHL and support a role for HLA-E recognition on the control of EBV infection and lymphomagenesis.

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Early peanut introduction wins over the HLA-DQA1*01:02 allele in the interplay between environment and genetics

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