HLA and HIV Infection Progression: Application of the Minimum Description Length Principle to Statistical Genetics

The minimum description length (MDL) principle states that the best model to account for some data minimizes the sum of the lengths, in bits, of the descriptions of the model and the residual error. The description length is thus a criterion for model selection. Description-length analysis of HLA alleles from the Chicago MACS cohort enables classification of alleles associated with plasma HIV RNA, an indicator of infection progression. Progression variation is most strongly associated with HLA-B. Individuals without B58s supertype alleles average viral RNA levels 3.6-fold greater than individuals with them.