title: Influence of host genetics on the severity of coccidioidomycosis.
abstract: Coccidioidomycosis, a mild flulike illness in approximately 40% of infected persons, progresses to severe pulmonary or disseminated disease in 1% to 10% of symptomatic cases. We examined host genetic influences on disease severity among class II HLA loci and the ABO blood group. Participants included African-American, Caucasian, and Hispanic persons with mild or severe disseminated coccidioidomycosis from Kern County, California. Among Hispanics, predisposition to symptomatic disease and severe disseminated disease is associated with blood types A and B, respectively. The HLA class II DRB1*1301 allele marks a pre-disposition to severe disseminated disease in each of the three groups. Reduced risk for severe disease is associated with DRB1*0301-DQB1*0201 among Caucasians and Hispanics and with DRB1*1501-DQB1*0602 among African-Americans. These data support the hypothesis that host genes, in particular HLA class II and the ABO blood group, influence susceptibility to severe coccidioidomycosis.
authors.affiliation: Public Health Biology and Epidemiology Department, University of California School of Public Health, Berkeley 94720, USA. leslie@allele5.biol.berkeley.edu
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Louie
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hajjeh
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vugia
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Werner
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Talbot
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Klitz
mesh_terms: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System / Q000235:genetics; D000483:Alleles; D044383:Black People; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003047:Coccidioidomycosis / Q000145:classification / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000145:classification; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D010641:Phenotype; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D044465:White People; D001741:Black or African American
chemical_list: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II