title: HLA and cytokine gene polymorphisms in biliary atresia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Extrahepatic biliary atresia remains one of the major hepatic causes of death in early childhood. Though a number of hypotheses have been developed to account for this disease, its aetiopathogenesis is poorly understood. One possibility is that this is an immune mediated disease which occurs following either toxic or infectious insult in a genetically susceptible host. Earlier studies suggested weak HLA associations but these remain unconfirmed. More recently studies of viral and autoimmune liver disease have begun to investigate non-MHC immunoregulatory gene polymorphisms.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the present study we used molecular genotyping to investigate selected HLA A, B, DRB1, DQA1, DQB1 and DPB1 alleles as well as polymorphisms in the interleukin-1 gene family, interleukin-10 promoter sequence and tumour necrosis factor alpha promoter genes in 101 children referred for surgical assessment with extra hepatic biliary atresia. Genotyping data were compared with those of 134 racially and geographically matched healthy adult health care workers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall there were no statistically significant differences in the distribution of any of the genes tested comparing patients and controls. These data suggest that biliary atresia is not an HLA-associated disease and that polymorphisms in both the interleukin-1 and interleukin-10 genes are not risk factors for this disease.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Liver Studies, University Hospital Innsbruck Anichstrasse 356020 Innsbruck, Austria. p.t.donaldson@ncl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Peter T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Donaldson
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Clare
authors.forename: Patrizia K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Constantini
authors.forename: Nedim
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hadzic
authors.forename: Giorginia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mieli-Vergani
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Howard
authors.forename: Dympna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kelley
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001656:Biliary Atresia / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000737:chemistry; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000235:genetics*; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000235:genetics*; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D006680:HLA Antigens; D007375:Interleukin-1; D016753:Interleukin-10