HLA-DQB1 subtypes predict diabetic retinopathy in patients with type I diabetes mellitus.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate if diabetic patients without diabetic retinopathy despite long disease duration have different human leukocyte antigen (HLA) status vs those with an early onset of retinopathy.


METHODS
Retrospective, nonrandomized, masked comparative study. Type 1 diabetic patients with a disease onset before age 30 were recruited to the study. The study population consisted of two groups of diabetic patients: those with normal retinopathy course (retinopathy developed during the first 20 years of diabetes onset) (23 patients) and those with postponed retinopathy (no obvious retinopathy in spite of passing 20 years of diabetes) (19 patients). These groups were matched with regard to level of glycemic control, blood pressure, and lipid profile. A group of 23 healthy patients served as controls. HLA-DQB1 typing of blood samples was done using a polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primer (PCR-SSP) method.


RESULTS
HLA-DQB1*0201/HLA-DQB1*0501 and HLA-DQB1*0201/HLA-DQB1*0504 haplotypes were more common among type 1 diabetic patients with normal retinopathy course than those with postponed retinopathy (26.1% vs 0.0%; p=0.019). HLA-DQB1*0301 and HLA-DQB1*0304 were less common among those diabetic patients with normal retinopathy course than those with a postponed retinopathy (63.2% vs 34.8%; p=0.067).


CONCLUSIONS
Some haplotypes seem to predispose diabetic patients to diabetic retinopathy. HLA typing may be beneficial for predicting the prognosis of diabetic retinopathy in younger diabetic patients.
Khazaee
Mohammad H
MH
Internal Medicine Department, Emam Reza General Hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad - Iran.
Tavakol Afshari
Jalil
J
Khazaee
Bahram
B
Daneshvar
Ramin
R
Akbarzadeh
Javad
J
Khazaee
Ladan
L
Ganjali
Rashin
R
Raygan
Firoozeh
F
D000328:Adult; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D001794:Blood Pressure; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000235:genetics*; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D059866:HLA-DQ beta-Chains; D006239:Haplotypes; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D001786:Blood Glucose; D006683:HLA-DQ Antigens; D059866:HLA-DQ beta-Chains; C069051:HLA-DQB1 antigen; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins