A Canadian genome-wide association study and meta-analysis confirm HLA as a risk factor for peanut allergy independent of asthma

Abstract

_To the Editor:_ Previously, we identified the HLA region as a risk factor forpeanut allergy (PA); this observation is supported further by 2 independent genome-wide association studies (GWASs). The HLA class II genes (including HLA-DR, HLA-DQ, and HLADP) encode molecules involved in presentation of extracellular antigens, such as peanut allergens, to T lymphocytes, which in turn mediates B-cell antibody production.We used the Canadian Peanut Allergy Registry (CanPAR) and the Busselton Health Study to conduct the largest GWAS for PA to date. Here we report analysis of the HLA region and a meta-analysis with data from 6 additional studies, which confirms and narrows the region of interest to HLA-DQB1 and establishes independence from asthma loci. [...]