Specific donor HLA allotypes as predictors of cytomegalovirus disease risk in acute myeloid leukemia

Some HLA alleles have been shown to be associated with susceptibility to cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease incidence in vitro. The objective of this study was to identify correlations between donor HLA allotypes and CMV disease incidence in patients with acute myeloid leukemia who had undergone allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Methods and materials we retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 613 donors and recipients with acute myeloid leukemia who had received an allogeneic HSCT from matched sibling (n = 260), unrelated (n = 168), or haploidentical (n = 186) donors, from 2012 to 2017. The HLA‐A, ‐B, ‐C, and ‐DRB1 allotypes in the donors were determined using sequence‐based typing. Overall, CMV disease incidence was significantly associated with three genotype alleles, HLA‐A*30:04:01G, ‐B*51:01:01G, and ‐DRB1*09:01:02G. In the donor CMV IgG seropositive subgroup, CMV disease incidence was significantly associated with HLA‐B*51:01:01G and ‐DRB1*09:01:02G. In the IgG seropositive donors in the unrelated allo‐HSCT subgroup CMV disease incidence was also significantly associated with HLA‐B*51:01:01G. In the CMV seropositive donors in the haploidentical allo‐HSCT subgroup, the incidence of CMV disease was significantly associated with HLA‐A*24:02:01G and ‐DRB1*09:01:02G. HLA‐DRB1*13:02:01G was a protective marker among IgG seropositive donors in the unrelated allo‐HSCT recipient category. Discussion and conclusions The incidence of CMV disease among HSCT recipients varies according to donor HLA alleles and the donor CMV IgG serostatus. Certain donor HLA alleles can be considered to be risk or protective markers. Donors' HLA types and CMV IgG serostatus should be considered in donor selection.