title: Association of HLA-DR-DQ polymorphisms with diabetes in Tunisian patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a polygenic disease whose principal locus is the human leukocytes antigen (HLA) region. The aim of this study was to evaluate HLA DR-DQ alleles and to asses them as risk factors for type 1 diabetes in the Tunisian population.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 119 subjects with diabetes were tested for HLA class II alleles and compared with 292 healthy controls. HLA DRB1 and DQB1 alleles were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSPs).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results revealed that the most susceptible haplotypes are the DRB1(*)03-DQB1(*)02 (pc<10(-3)) and DRB1(*)0401-DQB1(*)0302 (pc=0.001). (pc denotes Bonferroni corrected probability values.) The most protective haplotypes are DRB1(*)11-DQB1(*)03, DRB1(*)07-DQB1(*)02, and DRB1(*)13-DQB1(*)06 (pc=0.0026, pc=0.0065, and pc=0.02 respectively). Our results showed some particularities unique to Tunisians, there was a lack of a significant protective effect of the DRB1(*)15-DQB1(*)06 haplotype that usually is the dominant combination associated with protection in most other populations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Tunisian diabetic patients share the most susceptible and protective HLA haplotypes with Caucasians and those in neighbor Mediterranean countries. This is most likely explained by the history and admixture events of Tunisia and North Africa.
authors: Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Department of Hematology, Military Hospital of Tunisia, Tunisia. Electronic address: fnajiba@yahoo.fr.
authors: Najiba
authors: N
authors: Fekih Mrissa
authors: Meriem
authors: M
authors: Mrad
authors: Haroun
authors: H
authors: Ouertani
authors: Makrem
authors: M
authors: Baatour
authors: Aycha
authors: A
authors: Sayeh
authors: Brahim
authors: B
authors: Nsiri
authors: Khaled
authors: K
authors: Lamine
authors: Borni
authors: B
authors: Zidi
authors: Nasreddine
authors: N
authors: Gritli
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000483:Alleles; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D059866:HLA-DQ beta-Chains / Q000235:genetics*; D059811:HLA-DRB1 Chains / Q000235:genetics*; D006239:Haplotypes; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012307:Risk Factors; D014416:Tunisia
chemical_list: D059866:HLA-DQ beta-Chains; C069051:HLA-DQB1 antigen; D059811:HLA-DRB1 Chains
keywords: HLA class II haplotypes; Type I diabetes