Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and II alleles in Turkish patients with rheumatic heart disease.
OBJECTIVE
Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is often preceded by rheumatic fever (RF). The disease is a multisystem inflammatory condition that develops as a sequel to untreated throat infection by group A beta-hemolytic streptococci. Several studies have suggested that genetic susceptibility to RHD may be linked to human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II alleles. The study aim was to investigate the association between RHD and the antigens HLA-A, -B, -C, -DR and -DQ profile in RHD patients in eastern Turkey.


METHODS
A case-control study was conducted which included 85 unrelated patients with RHD, and 85 control subjects. The diagnosis was supported by echocardiography and histories of RHD of those patients who underwent valve replacement. The association of class I and class II HLA antigens was examined in RHD and control subjects using a sequence-specific primer (SSP) method.


RESULTS
The phenotypes HLA-B51, -Cw*4 and -DRB1*01 were encountered in significantly lower frequencies in patients with RHD compared to the control population (p <0.05, p <0.05, p <0.05, respectively). There was also a significant increase in antigen frequency of HLA-DQB1*08 in RHD patients compared to controls (p <0.005).


CONCLUSIONS
Among the studied population, the results suggested that susceptibility to RHD was HLA-related, with HLA-DQB1*08 most likely influencing the occurrence of the condition. HLA-B51, -Cw*4 and -DRB1*01 appeared to be more common in control subjects.
Gündogdu
Fuat
F
Department of Cardiology , Aziziye Hospital Faculty of Medicine, Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey. gundogdudr@gmail.com
Islamoglu
Yahya
Y
Pirim
Ibrahim
I
Gurlertop
Yekta
Y
Dogan
Hasan
H
Arslan
Sakir
S
Sevimli
Serdar
S
Aksakal
Enbiya
E
Senocak
Huseyin
H
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics*; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010641:Phenotype; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012214:Rheumatic Heart Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D014421:Turkey
D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II