title: Relationship of HLA-DRB1 gene polymorphism with susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis: updated meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Studies indicate that human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene polymorphisms are implicated in the risk of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). However, research findings are contradictory.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the association between HLA-DRB1 alleles and PTB risk using a meta-analysis on case-control studies.
  
  
  METHODS
  We searched for relevant studies in the PubMed and EMBASE databases. We used fixed-effects or random-effects models and reported combined odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to estimate the quality of each case-control study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 21 individual case-control studies were identified, including studies of 14 family alleles and 28 specific alleles. Compared with controls, DRB1*15 and DRB1*08:03 were found to have significantly higher frequencies in PTB patients; however, DRB1*03, DRB1*11, DRB1*11:03 and DRB1*12:02 had significantly lower frequencies in the total population. The association between other HLA-DRB1 family alleles and specific alleles and predisposition to PTB was not statistically significant. Among Asian populations, DRB1*03 and DRB1*07:01 were associated with a reduced incidence of PTB, while DRB1*15 and DRB1*08:03 were associated with an increased incidence of PTB.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We conclude that HLA-DRB1 may be a valuable marker to predict the risk for PTB, especially in Asian populations.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: C-P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics*; D015415:Biomarkers; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005787:Gene Frequency; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D059811:HLA-DRB1 Chains / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D059811:HLA-DRB1 Chains