Objective:
To investigate the associations between hla class ii genes and antiphosphatidylserine/prothrombin antibodies (aps/pt) in a group of british caucasoid patients with antiphospholipid antibodies (apl).
Methods:
This study included 82 patients with apl. igg aps/pt were detected in sera using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. hla-dqb1, dqa1, and drb1 genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction using sequence-specific primers. all results were compared with 177 matched healthy control subjects.
Results:
Igg aps/pt were present in 41 of 82 patients (50%). the frequencies of dqb1*0301/4, dqb1*0604/5/6/7/9, and drb1*1302 alleles were increased in patients with aps/pt compared with controls. to minimize the interference of the association between anti-beta2-glycoprotein i (anti-beta2gpi) and hla, patients with anti-beta2gpi were excluded from further analyses, and only hla-dqb1*0301/4 remained significant compared with controls (odds ratio [or] 2.75, 95% confidence interval [95% ci] 1.2-6.5, p < 0.03). in the haplotype analysis, hla-dqb1*0301/4;dqa1* 0301/2;drb1*04 was significantly increased in patients with igg aps/pt compared with controls (or 4.75, 95% ci 1.72-13.10, p = 0.0063).
Conclusion:
The hla-dqb1*0301/4;dqa1*0301/ 2;drb1*04 haplotype and its components may influence the production of aps/pt in the antiphospholipid syndrome, which partly explains the correlation between the lupus anticoagulant and dqb1*03.