title: Association of MICA Alleles with Autoimmune Thyroid Disease in Korean Children.
abstract: Background. Major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related gene A (MICA) is a ligand for the activating NKG2D receptor expressed on natural killer (NK) cells. We aimed to assess the association of MICA polymorphism with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) in Korean children. Methods. Eighty-one patients with AITD were recruited. We analyzed MICA polymorphisms by PCR-SSP and compared the results with those of 70 healthy controls. Results. In AITD, the allele frequencies of MICA∗010 (OR = 2.21; 95% CI, 1.30-3.76, P < 0.003, P(c) < 0.042) were higher than those of controls. Patients who did not have thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy showed higher frequencies of MICA∗010 (OR = 2.99; 95% CI, 1.47-6.08, P < 0.003, P(c) < 0.042) and lower frequencies of MICA∗008 (OR = 0.08; 95% CI, 0.01-0.62, P < 0.001, P(c) < 0.014) compared to those of controls. HLA-B∗46, which shows the strongest association with AITD compared with other HLA alleles, showed the strongest linkage disequilibrium with MICA∗010. Analyses of the associations between MICA∗010 and HLA-B∗46 with AITD suggest an association of the MICA allele with AITD. Conclusions. Our results suggest that innate immunity might contribute to the pathogenesis of AITD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, 505 Banpo-Dong, Seocho-Gu, Seoul 137-040, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Won Kyoung
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Min Ho
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: So Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: In Cheol
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Baek
authors.forename: Hee-Baeg
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Tai-Gyu
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Byung-Kyu
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Suh