title: ABO, Secretor and Lewis histo-blood group systems influence the digestive form of Chagas disease.
abstract: Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, can affect the heart, esophagus and colon. The reasons that some patients develop different clinical forms or remain asymptomatic are unclear. It is believed that tissue immunogenetic markers influence the tropism of T. cruzi for different organs. ABO, Secretor and Lewis histo-blood group systems express a variety of tissue carbohydrate antigens that influence the susceptibility or resistance to diseases. This study aimed to examine the association of ABO, secretor and Lewis histo-blood systems with the clinical forms of Chagas disease. We enrolled 339 consecutive adult patients with chronic Chagas disease regardless of gender (cardiomyopathy: n=154; megaesophagus: n=119; megacolon: n=66). The control group was composed by 488 healthy blood donors. IgG anti-T. cruzi antibodies were detected by ELISA. ABO and Lewis phenotypes were defined by standard hemagglutination tests. Secretor (FUT2) and Lewis (FUT3) genotypes, determined by Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), were used to infer the correct histo-blood group antigens expressed in the gastrointestinal tract. The proportions between groups were compared using the χ2 test with Yates correction and Fisher's exact test and the Odds Ratio (OR) and 95% Confidence Interval (95% CI) were calculated. An alpha error of 5% was considered significant with p-values <0.05 being corrected for multiple comparisons (pc). No statistically significant differences were found for the ABO (X2: 2.635; p-value=0.451), Secretor (X2: 0.056; p-value=0.812) or Lewis (X2: 2.092; p-value=0.351) histo-blood group phenotypes between patients and controls. However, B plus AB Secretor phenotypes were prevalent in pooled data from megaesophagus and megacolon patients (OR: 5.381; 95% CI: 1.230-23.529; p-value=0.011; pc=0.022) in comparison to A plus O Secretor phenotypes. The tissue antigen variability resulting from the combined action of ABO and Secretor histo-blood systems is associated with the digestive forms of Chagas disease.
authors: Immunogenetics Laboratory, Molecular Biology Department, Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto, Avenida Brigadeiro Faria Lima, 5416, 15090-000 São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors: Cássia Rubia
authors: CR
authors: Bernardo
authors: Immunogenetics Laboratory, Molecular Biology Department, Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto, Avenida Brigadeiro Faria Lima, 5416, 15090-000 São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors: Ana Vitória Silveira
authors: AVS
authors: Camargo
authors: Surgery Department, Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto, Avenida Brigadeiro Faria Lima, 5416, 15090-000 São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors: Luís Sérgio
authors: LS
authors: Ronchi
authors: Immunogenetics Laboratory, Molecular Biology Department, Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto, Avenida Brigadeiro Faria Lima, 5416, 15090-000 São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors: Amanda Priscila
authors: AP
authors: de Oliveira
authors: Surgery Department, Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto, Avenida Brigadeiro Faria Lima, 5416, 15090-000 São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors: Eumildo
authors: E
authors: de Campos Júnior
authors: Surgery Department, Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto, Avenida Brigadeiro Faria Lima, 5416, 15090-000 São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors: Aldenis Albaneze
authors: AA
authors: Borim
authors: Immunogenetics Laboratory, Molecular Biology Department, Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto, Avenida Brigadeiro Faria Lima, 5416, 15090-000 São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors: Cinara Cássia
authors: CC
authors: Brandão de Mattos
authors: Department of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery, Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto, Avenida Brigadeiro Faria Lima, 5416, 15090-000 São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil.
authors: Reinaldo Bulgarelli
authors: RB
authors: Bestetti
authors: Immunogenetics Laboratory, Molecular Biology Department, Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto, Avenida Brigadeiro Faria Lima, 5416, 15090-000 São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil. Electronic address: luiz.demattos@famerp.br.
authors: Luiz Carlos
authors: LC
authors: de Mattos
mesh_terms: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005647:Fucosyltransferases / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007983:Lewis Blood Group Antigens; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult; D000097631:Galactoside 2-alpha-L-fucosyltransferase
chemical_list: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System; D005647:Fucosyltransferases; D007983:Lewis Blood Group Antigens; D000097631:Galactoside 2-alpha-L-fucosyltransferase; C019818:3-galactosyl-N-acetylglucosaminide 4-alpha-L-fucosyltransferase
keywords: ABO; Chagas disease; Histo-blood group systems; Lewis; Secretor