title: Male microchimerism and HLA compatibility in French women with sclerodema: a different profile in limited and diffuse subset.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Male microchimerism (Mc) persisting from pregnancy has been found at greater frequencies and/or higher quantities in women with scleroderma (SSc) compared with controls, suggesting a possible role in disease development. Moreover, women with an HLA-compatible child have a higher risk to develop SSc. We tested the hypothesis, on our French SSc cohort, that women with lcSSc and dcSSc, two distinct clinical subsets, have a different profile in terms of Mc and HLA compatibility in families.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 98 women (52 lcSSc and 46 dcSSc) for male Mc, by real-time PCR, in their whole blood and/or peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Similarly, 91 matched healthy women were analysed. Complete HLA-DRB1 typing was obtained for 58 SSc and 68 control families (proband/children).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women with lcSSc (N = 50) had male Mc more often in their whole blood than women with dcSSc (N = 40, 20 vs 5%, P = 0.038), but not significantly more than controls. By contrast, women with dcSSc (N = 36) hold Mc more often in PBMC (25 vs 9%), but not significantly and have greater quantities than controls (N = 82, P = 0.048). This contrast is also visible in feto-maternal HLA-DRB1 compatibility, which was increased only among women with lcSSc (N = 33) compared with controls (N = 68, P = 0.003).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For the first time, we showed that women with lcSSc and dcSSc hold male Mc in different blood compartments. Furthermore, a distinct pattern between the two SSc subtypes is observed for feto-maternal HLA-DRB1 compatibility. These results suggest a different mechanism behind each type of disease.
authors.affiliation: INSERM U639, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Justyna M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Rak
authors.forename: Philippe P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Pagni
authors.forename: Kiet
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tiev
authors.forename: Yannick
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Allanore
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Farge
authors.forename: Jean-Robert
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Harlé
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Launay
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hachulla
authors.forename: Rémi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Didelot
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cabane
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kahan
authors.forename: Marielle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Granel
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Roudier
authors.forename: Nathalie C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Lambert
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D046528:Chimerism; D005260:Female; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D059811:HLA-DRB1 Chains; D006648:Histocompatibility; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D045743:Scleroderma, Diffuse / Q000235:genetics; D045745:Scleroderma, Limited / Q000235:genetics; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D059811:HLA-DRB1 Chains