Male microchimerism and HLA compatibility in French women with sclerodema: a different profile in limited and diffuse subset.
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.
Rak
Justyna M
JM
INSERM U639, Marseille, France.
Pagni
Philippe P
PP
Tiev
Kiet
K
Allanore
Yannick
Y
Farge
Dominique
D
Harlé
Jean-Robert
JR
Launay
David
D
Hachulla
Eric
E
Didelot
Rémi
R
Cabane
Jean
J
Kahan
André
A
Martin
Marielle
M
Granel
Brigitte
B
Roudier
Jean
J
Lambert
Nathalie C
NC
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
D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D059811:HLA-DRB1 Chains