title: Reduced Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) Protection in Gulf War Illness (GWI).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Gulf War Illness (GWI) is a disease of unknown etiology with symptoms suggesting the involvement of an immune process. Here we tested the hypothesis that Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) composition might differ between veterans with and without GWI.
  
  
  METHODS
  We identified 144 unique alleles of Class I and II HLA genes in 82 veterans (66 with and 16 without GWI). We tested the hypothesis that a subset of HLA alleles may classify veterans in their respective group using a stepwise linear discriminant analysis. In addition, each participant rated symptom severity in 6 domains according to established GWI criteria, and an overall symptom severity was calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found 6 Class II alleles that classified participants 84.1% correctly (13/16 control and 56/66 GWI). The number of copies of the 6 alleles was significantly higher in the control group, suggesting a protective role. This was supported by a significant negative dependence of overall symptom severity on the number of allele copies, such that symptom severity was lower in participants with larger numbers of allele copies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results indicate a reduced HLA protection (i.e. genetic susceptibility) in veterans with GWI.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  University of Minnesota and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
authors: Brain Sciences Center, Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN 55417, USA; Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Center for Cognitive Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Graduate Program in Biomedical Informatics and Computational Biology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA. Electronic address: omega@umn.edu.
authors: Apostolos P
authors: AP
authors: Georgopoulos
authors: Brain Sciences Center, Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN 55417, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Center for Cognitive Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
authors: Lisa M
authors: LM
authors: James
authors: Brain Sciences Center, Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN 55417, USA; Graduate Program in Biomedical Informatics and Computational Biology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
authors: Margaret Y
authors: MY
authors: Mahan
authors: Brain Sciences Center, Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN 55417, USA; Graduate Program in Biomedical Informatics and Computational Biology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
authors: Jasmine
authors: J
authors: Joseph
authors: Metabolic Service, Department of Medicine, Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN 55417, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
authors: Angeliki
authors: A
authors: Georgopoulos
authors: Brain Sciences Center, Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN 55417, USA; Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Center for Cognitive Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
authors: Brian E
authors: BE
authors: Engdahl
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000483:Alleles; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D060005:Genotyping Techniques; D047830:Gulf War; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D018923:Persian Gulf Syndrome / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D012372:ROC Curve; D014728:Veterans
chemical_list: D006680:HLA Antigens
keywords: Genetic risk; Gulf War Illness (GWI); Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA); Veterans