Association of HLA class II alleles with suicidal behavior in a Transylvanian population

Abstract

Abstract Background: Suicide is a complex phenomenon determined by the interaction of various risk factors. The Major Histocompatibility Complex is the most polymorphic gene cluster of the entire human genome, being linked to both the regulation of the immune system and various psychiatric diseases. The aim of this study was to identify HLA-DQB1 and DRB1 alleles and genotypes susceptible to influence suicidal behavior. Methods: We explored the association of HLA-DQB1 alleles with the suicidal behavior on a sample of 427 individuals (including 110 suicide attempters) from Transylvania, as well as the association of HLA-DRB1 alleles with the suicidal behavior on a sample of 271 individuals (including 50 suicide attempters), using the single specific primer-PCR (SSP-PCR) technique. Results: We found that the HLA-DQB1*02, *03 and *06 alleles, the DQB1*02/*03, DQB1*02/*06, DRB1*12/*15 and DRB1*07/*13 genotypes, as well as the DQB1*06~DRB1*07 and DQB1*02~DRB1*13 haplotypes, were more frequent in suicide attempters. In contrast, the HLA-DQB1*04 and DQB1*13 alleles, the DQB1*02/*05 and DQB1*03/*05 genotypes and the DQB1*03~DRB1*13 haplotype were less frequent in the case group. Conclusion: HLA-DQB1*02, *03 and *06 alleles and the DQB1*02/*03 and *02/*06 genotypes are susceptible to favor a suicide behavior, while the HLA-DQB1*04 and *13 alleles and the DQB1*02/*05 and *03/*05 genotypes were protective against such behavior. A similar analysis regarding the HLA-DRB1 alleles detected a possible risk for suicidal behavior among individuals possessing either the DRB1*12/*15 or the DRB1*07/*13 genotypes. DQB1*06~DRB1*07 and DQB1*02~DRB1*13 haplotypes were found susceptible to favor a suicidal behavior, while DQB1*03~DRB1*13 exhibited a protective influence.