Human leukocyte antigen class I (A, B) and class II (DRB1) allele and haplotype frequencies in Iranian patients with Buerger's disease

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I (HLA-A and HLA-B) and II (HLA-DRB1) allele and haplotype frequencies in a group of Iranian patients with Buerger's disease (BD) in comparison with a normal healthy control group.

Methods: A total of 70 unrelated male patients and 100 healthy controls from Sina Hospital, Tehran, Iran, belonging to the same ethnic background, were enrolled in this case-control study. HLA-A, B, and DRB1 typing were performed by polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP).

Results: The results of this case-control study showed that the frequency of the HLA-A*03:01 (odds ratio (OR) = 2.88, P value (Pv) = .002), HLA-A*29:01 (OR = 15.31, Pv < .001), HLA-DRB1*04:02 (OR = 3.41, Pv < .001), and HLA-DRB1*16:01 (OR = 8.16, Pv < .001) was significantly higher in BD patients compared with healthy controls, whereas the frequency of the HLA-DRB1*01:01 (OR = 0.03, Pv < .001) was significantly lower in BD patients. The most frequent extended haplotypes in our patients were HLA-A*02:01-B*55:01-DRB1*04:03.

Conclusion: This study is the first study evaluating an association between the HLA pattern and BD in the patients with BD from North West and North Iran.

Keywords: Buerger's disease; HLA-DNA typing; MHC; polymerase chain reaction.