title: An investigation of the association between HLA-DQ heterodimers and type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus in five racial groups.
abstract: The association between HLA-DQ alpha Arg52-HLA-DQ beta non-Asp57 heterodimers and type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes was compared in Japanese, Chinese, Caucasian, North Indian Asian, and Afro-Caribbean patients to determine their importance in disease susceptibility. The potential to encode four Arg52-non-Asp57 DQ heterodimers, two in cis and two in trans, was significantly associated with increased risk of type 1 diabetes in all races except the Japanese. The possibility of encoding two Arg52-non-Asp57 heterodimers was also significantly associated with increased risk of the disease in all races except the Japanese. The possibility of encoding one heterodimer was not significantly associated with type 1 diabetes in any of the races studied. Heterogeneity testing revealed significant differences in RR values for four, two, and one heterodimers in all races except the Japanese and significant differences in RR for four and two heterodimers when compared across the races. This, together with the lack of an association between Arg52-non-Asp57 heterodimers and type 1 diabetes in the Japanese, suggests that, assuming the same genetic basis for disease in all races, the heterodimer is unlikely to be of primary importance in susceptibility to the disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Birmingham, England.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Penny
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Mijovic
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Cavan
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fletcher
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Barnett
mesh_terms: D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D044469:Racial Groups
chemical_list: D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens