Objective: Our purpose was to determine whether alleles at one or more HLA loci are associated with hypersensitivity to wormwood pollen in patients with allergic rhinitis.
Method: By using PCR-SSP(sequence-specific primer polymerase chain reaction), we tested the frequency distribution of HLA-DQA1, DQB alleles in 41 patients with allergic rhinitis(AR) and 41 healthy controls from Beijing.
Result: The frequency of HLA-DQA1* 0201, DQB1 * 0602 was lower in AR than in controls(24.39%, 4.88% vs 46.34%, 26.83%), and the frequency of DQA1 * 0302 was increased among patients(58.54% vs 14.63%).
Conclusion: HLA-DQA1 * 0201, DQB1 * 0602 alleles might confer protection against AR, and DQA1 * 0302 may be a susceptibility factor for hypersensitivity to wormwood pollen.