The Role of Killer Immunoglobulin-Like Receptor Genes in Susceptibility to HIV-1 Infection and Disease Progression: A Meta-Analysis.

Genetic studies on the association of the killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genes with HIV-1 infection and disease progression have been widely carried out with somewhat contradictory results. Therefore, we undertook a quantitative assessment based on 25 studies [involving 3,216 HIV-1 infected subjects, 1,690 exposed uninfected subjects, 1,262 healthy controls (HCs), 748 typical progressors (TPs), and 244 long-term nonprogressors (LTNPs)] to further define the roles of in HIV-1 control/susceptibility. An overall analysis, showed that, among the 16 genes, the presence of may associate with an elevated risk of HIV-1 infection ( < .05, using HCs), whereas may associate with a reduced risk ( < .001, using HCs). In the subgroup analyses, among Africans, also revealed a significant risk of HIV-1 infection ( < .05), whereas , , and conferred a protective role ( < .05). and showed an increased risk of acquiring infection among Caucasians ( < .05). A negative effect on susceptibility to infection for , , and was found among East Asians. conferred a protective effect of HIV-1 infection among serodiscordant couples ( < .05). Moreover, among Chinese, was significantly lower in frequency in TPs when compared with LTNPs ( < .05), indicating a possible role in the delay of disease progression. This meta-analysis supports the individual studies that associate specific genes with HIV-1 infection and disease progression and further emphasizes that this outcome differs according to specific populations.