HLA-DRB1*08:03:02 and HLA-DQB1*06:01:01 are associated with house dust mite-sensitive allergic rhinitis in Chinese subjects.

Abstract

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a multifactorial immunologic disease that is influenced by both genetic and environment factors. House dust mites (HDMs) are important inhalant aeroallergens and are an epidemiologic risk factor for AR. Similarly, the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II genes DQB1 and DRB1 have been shown to be associated with AR and play an important role in the regulation of the immune response. The objective of this work was to elucidate the HLA-II gene alleles associated with AR in HDM-sensitive Han Chinese subjects. A total of 142 patients with AR and 184 healthy subjects were recruited to this case-control study. Diagnosis of AR was based on medical history, laryngological examination, skin-prick tests, and HMD-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) assays. Genotyping of HLA-DRB1 and HAL-DQB1 was performed by the polymerase chain reaction sequence-based genotyping method. A total of 35 alleles of the HLA-DRB1 locus and 19 alleles of the HLA-DQB1 locus were genotyped in the entire study cohort; the frequencies of alleles DQB1*06:01:01 (corrected p value [pc ] = 0.009; odds ratio [OR] = 2.684; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.482 to 4.994) and DRB1*08:03:02 (pc = 0.009; OR = 3.754; 95% CI = 1.724 to 8.851) were significantly increased in HDM-sensitive AR patients compared to healthy controls and are considered to be a risk factor for AR in Chinese Han subjects. The frequency of haplotype DRB1*08:03-DQB1*06:01 in the HDM-sensitive AR group was also significantly higher than in the control group (9.5% vs 2.4%; pc = 0.005; OR = 4.182; 95% CI = 1.870 to 10.285). Serological antigen types assessment further demonstrated the frequency of HLA-DRB1*08 (pc = 0.022; OR = 2.982; 95% CI = 1.46 to 6.400) to be significantly increased in HDM-sensitive AR patients, and the frequencies of DRB1*14 (pc = 0.030; OR = 0.340; 95% CI = 0.154 to 0.694) and DQB1*05 (pc = 0.030; OR = 0.459; 95% CI = 0.269 to 0.764) to be significantly decreased, compared to healthy controls, suggesting that HLA-DRB1*08 might be a risk factor, and DRB1*14 and DQB1*05 protective factors for HDM-sensitive AR. HLA-DRB1*08:03:02 and HLA-DQB1*06:01:01 are associated with HMD-sensitive AR and may confer a risk for development of AR in Han Chinese subjects sensitized to HDM.