Association between HLA-DQB1 alleles and HAM/TSP patients in Khorasan Province

• Main Authors: Amir Reza Tafreshian, Mehdi Etemadi, Reza Farid-Hosseini, Mansoor Salhi, Jalil Tavakkol Afshari
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Mashhad University of Medical Sciences 2014-10-01
• Series: Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences
• Subjects: HLA HLA-DQB1 HAM/TSP HTLV-1 PCR-SSP
• Online Access: http://ijbms.mums.ac.ir/pdf_3456_db24c5d4a1ca88ab99a639b07c0f9ae2.html
• ISSN: 2008-3866; 2008-3874

Objective(s): HTLVI-1 is the first human retrovirus with limited endemic regions in the world. The epidemiological studies have shown that the genetic background and immune response to the virus have a significant role in HTLV-I-associated diseases.  Among the genes are involved in HTLV-I infection, the role of human leukocytes antigen (HLA) have been studied in different population. In the present study we examined the association between HLA-DQB1 alleles and HTLV-I infection in HAM/TSP patients, HTLV-I carriers and healthy controls in north east of Iran, Mashhad. Materials and Methods:The blood samples of 16 patients with HAM/TSP, 20 HTLV-1 carriers, and 30 healthy individuals were taken and DNA was extracted by salting out method.  HLA-DQB1 typing was performed using PCR-SSP method and the frequency of HLA-DQB1 alleles were compared by Fischer Exact Test. Results:There was a significant difference between HAM/TSP patients and healthy controls in the frequency of HLA-DQB1*07 (P=0.004, RR=7). Furthermore, we found that possession of HLA- DQB1*02 or HLA-DQB1*05 increased the risk of disease 1.5 times. Conclusion: The data presented here suggest that both HLA-DQB1*07 and HLA-DQB1*06 are associated with disease development.