The HLA association with Graves' disease is sex-specific in Hong Kong Chinese subjects.
OBJECTIVE
Graves' disease is associated with different HLA genes in Caucasians and the Chinese, in whom the HLA associations may be stronger in males than females. Common HLA-associated susceptibility in both races may occur at the HLA-DQ loci. The aims of this study were to examine the HLA-A, B, DR and DQ associations with Graves' disease in a Hong Kong Chinese population and to determine whether the HLA associations differ between the sexes and between subjects with and without thyrotoxic periodic paralysis.


METHODS
HLA-A, B and DR types were determined by serological typing and DQA1 and DQB1 alleles by oligonucleotide probing of the respective enzymatically amplified gene.


METHODS
Ninety-seven Chinese patients with Graves' disease (31 males with, 35 males without and 31 females without thyrotoxic periodic paralysis) and 105 racially matched healthy controls.


METHODS
Frequencies of HLA types/alleles at each locus were compared between patients and controls and between the Graves' subgroups using the chi 2-test.


RESULTS
HLA-B46, DR9 and DQB1*0303 were associated with Graves' disease in males only; these associations were weaker in males with thyrotoxic periodic paralysis. DR12, DQA1*0401 and DQB1*0301 were protective, regardless of sex or the presence of thyrotoxic periodic paralysis. The positive HLA associations in the Hong Kong Chinese were distinct from those in Caucasians whereas the protective haplotype was similar to that described in Caucasians.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings call in question the role of HLA genes in disease susceptibility but suggest a role for HLA in protection from Graves' disease.
Cavan
D A
DA
Department of Medicine, University of Birmingham, UK.
Penny
M A
MA
Jacobs
K H
KH
Kelly
M A
MA
Jenkins
D
D
Mijovic
C
C
Chow
C
C
Cockram
C S
CS
Hawkins
B R
BR
Barnett
A H
AH
D000328:Adult; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005260:Female; D005805:Genes, MHC Class I / Q000235:genetics*; D005802:Genes, MHC Class II / Q000235:genetics*; D006111:Graves Disease / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000235:genetics; D015235:HLA-B Antigens / Q000235:genetics; D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens / Q000235:genetics; D059848:HLA-DQ alpha-Chains; D059866:HLA-DQ beta-Chains; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000235:genetics; D059810:HLA-DR Serological Subtypes; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors
D015235:HLA-B Antigens; C080311:HLA-B46 antigen; D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens; D059848:HLA-DQ alpha-Chains; D059866:HLA-DQ beta-Chains; C069050:HLA-DQA1 antigen; C069051:HLA-DQB1 antigen; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D059810:HLA-DR Serological Subtypes; C082411:HLA-DR12 antigen; C038988:HLA-DR9 antigen