HLA-DQA1*0301-associated susceptibility for autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type II and III.
No significant differences were reported for the frequency of DR3-DQ2 and DR4-DQ8 haplotypes in a recent study of one of the largest cohorts worldwide of patients with isolated Addison's disease compared to patients with APS II. However, previous studies had suggested that the HLA-DQ genes, especially DQA1*0102, may be a genetic marker for resistance to autoimmune thyroid disease, which is the most frequent disease in APS II or III. Until now, HLA-DQA1 alleles have not been systematically investigated in APS. We determined the HLA-DR and HLA-DQA1 association in 112 unrelated patients with APS II (n = 29), APS III (n = 83) and 184 unrelated patients with single-component diseases without further manifestations of APS: Graves' disease (n = 70), Hashimoto's thyroiditis (n = 53), autoimmune Addison's disease (n = 15), vitiligo (n = 16) and alopecia (n = 30), and 72 healthy controls - German Caucasians - to identify possible predisposing and protective HLA class II alleles in APS. In agreement with previous studies, we detected a significantly higher frequency of DR 3 and/or DR 4 in patients with APS II and III compared to controls. In patients with APS II, we detected a significantly higher frequency of DQA1*0301 and *0501 compared to controls confirming the increased frequency of an extended HLA DRB1-*04-DQA1-*03-DQB-*03 haplotype as previously described. In contrast, only DQA1*0301 was increased in our patients with APS III compared to controls. Moreover, we detected an increased frequency of DQA1*0301 in patients with APS, whereas DQA1*0301 was only significantly elevated in alopecia in patients with single-component diseases without APS. Therefore, our results indicate an association between DQA1*0301 and APS II or III since this allele was otherwise not significantly associated with any of its component diseases except alopecia. Moreover, our data imply that the allele DQA1*0301 is a marker of increased risk for further APS manifestations in patients who suffer from an organ-specific autoimmune disease.
Department of Internal Medicine II, Klinikum Erfurt GmbH, Erlangen, Germany.
H
H
Wallaschofski
A
A
Meyer
U
U
Tuschy
T
T
Lohmann
D000224:Addison Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D000483:Alleles; D000505:Alopecia / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D005858:Germany; D006111:Graves Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D059848:HLA-DQ alpha-Chains; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016884:Polyendocrinopathies, Autoimmune / Q000276:immunology*; D013967:Thyroiditis, Autoimmune / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D044465:White People
D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens; D059848:HLA-DQ alpha-Chains; C069050:HLA-DQA1 antigen; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens