title: HLA-DQA is associated with abdominal aortic aneurysms in the Belgian population.
abstract: Chronic inflammation and autoimmunity likely contribute to the pathogenesis of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). The aim of this study was to investigate the role of autoimmunity in the etiology of AAAs using a genetic association study approach with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) polymorphisms (HLA-DQA1, -DQB1, -DRB1 and -DRB3-5 alleles) in 387 AAA cases and 426 controls. We observed an association with the HLA-DQA1 locus among Belgian males, and found a significant difference in the HLA-DQA1*0102 allele frequencies between AAA cases and controls. In conclusion, this study showed potential evidence that the HLA-DQA1 locus harbors a genetic risk factor for AAAs suggesting that autoimmunity plays a role in the pathogenesis of AAAs.
authors.affiliation: Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3317 Gordon H. Scott Hall of Basic Medical Sciences, 540 E. Canfield Ave., Detroit, MI 48201, USA.
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tromp
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ogata
authors.forename: Lucie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gregoire
authors.forename: Katrina A B
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Goddard
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Skunca
authors.forename: Wayne D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Lancaster
authors.forename: Antonio R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Parrado
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Hidenori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shibamura
authors.forename: Natzi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sakalihasan
authors.forename: Raymond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Limet
authors.forename: Gerald L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Mackean
authors.forename: Claudette
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arthur
authors.forename: Taijiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sueda
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kuivaniemi
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D017544:Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal / Q000235:genetics*; D001530:Belgium; D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D059848:HLA-DQ alpha-Chains; D006801:Humans; D011153:Population; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens; D059848:HLA-DQ alpha-Chains; C069050:HLA-DQA1 antigen