The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) belongs to the Retroviridae family and
remains a public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Recent reports from WHO
have shown that 33 million people died from HIV infections. HIV is one of the
most serious fatal human diseases of the 20th and 21st centuries. However,
variations in genetic and immunological factors are associated with protection
against HIV infection in uninfected people exposed to HIV. This is the case with
naturals killers which play an important role in the progression or regression
of HIV infection. The objective of this study is to characterize certain HLA
(human leukocyte antigen) class II genes and KIR genes in HIV-1 serodiscordant
couples in Burkina Faso. This study was carried out at Burkina Faso among
nineteen (19) HIV-1 serodiscordant couples. Classical multiplex PCR (SSP-PCR)
was used to characterize the presence or absence of the KIR genes and certain
class II HLAs (DRB1*11 and DRB1*12). The characterization of the KIR and HLA
genes DRB1*11, DRB1*12 in this study demonstrated that the inhibitor KIR2DL5B,
would confer protection against HIV-1 infection in seronegative partners (odd
ratio [OR] = 0.13 [0.02-0.72] and p = 0.029), and the HLA DRB1*12 allele was
associated with protection against HIV-1 infection in seronegative partners
(OR = 0.16 [0.03-0.77] and p = 0.038). AA and Bx haplotypes were not found to be
associated with HIV-1 infection in serodiscordant couples. This study confirms
the involvement of the KIR genes in viral pathologies such as HIV-1 infection.
Future larger-scale studies may provide a better understanding of the molecular
mechanism by which the KIR haplotype and combination of KIR/HLA are associated
with protection against HIV infection.