title: Association analysis of the HLA-C gene in Japanese alopecia areata.
abstract: Alopecia areata (AA) is an organ-specific and cell-mediated autoimmune disease involving hair loss, but its pathogenesis remains poorly understood. Many autoimmune diseases are genetically associated with alleles of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes within the major histocompatibility complex. Associations between AA and HLA genes were previously observed in some different ethnic groups. However, the results were inconsistent, and a primary susceptibility HLA gene and/or region has not yet been assigned for AA. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether an allele of the HLA-C locus, HLA-C*07:04, which was strongly associated with AA in Chinese Hans, could be replicated in the Japanese population. The HLA-C locus was genotyped by the SSO method using 156 AA patients and 560 healthy controls. As a consequence, among the 17 alleles detected, only two alleles, C*04:01 (OR = 2.25, CI 95 % = 1.35-3.75, P = 1.84E-03) and C*15:02 (OR = 2.52, CI 95 % = 1.37-4.64, P = 2.90E-03), were significantly associated with AA after Bonferroni correction. Further, the stratification analysis suggested that C*04:01, C*07:02, and C*15:02 represented different AA genetic risk factors in each sub-phenotype.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Life Science, Division of Basic Medical Science and Molecular Medicine, Tokai University School of Medicine, 143 Shimokasuya, Isehara, Kanagawa 259-1193, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Haida
authors.forename: Shigaku
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Takagi
authors.forename: Etsuko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Komiyama
authors.forename: Tomotaka
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mabuchi
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ozawa
authors.forename: Jerzy K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Kulski
authors.forename: Hidetoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inoko
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oka
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000506:Alopecia Areata / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics*; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005787:Gene Frequency; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D015236:HLA-C Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D015236:HLA-C Antigens