HLA-DRB1 polymorphism and risk of pediatric-onset and adult-onset multiple sclerosis: a case–control study

Abstract

The association of predisposition to multiple sclerosis (MS) with HLA-DRB1 gene polymorphisms is the strongest. It is not clear whether the DRB1 alleles associated with the risk of this disease diff er in adult and pediatric populations living in the same environmental conditions.Objective: comparative study of associations of HLA-DRB1 gene polymorphism with the risk of pediatric-onset MS and adult-onset MS in the Altai region.Material and methods. Caucasian with relapsing-remitting MS, born and living in the Altai region of Russia in the southeast of Western Siberia, participated in the case–control study: 200 patients with adult-onset MS, 86 patients with pediatric-onset MS. The control group included 200 volunteers. Genotyping was performed by TaqMan probes. Results. Alleles 03, 13, 15 of the HLA-DRB1 gene are genetic risk factors for both adult-onset MS and pediatric-onset MS in Caucasians in the Altai region. Alleles 01 and 07 of the HLA-DRB1 gene may have a protective eff ect against pediatric-onset MS, alleles 01, 07, 11 and 16 against adult-onset MS.Conclusion. It can be assumed that the diff erence in the age of MS onset is not associated with the diff erent infl uence of risk alleles of the HLA-DRB1 gene in populations under and over 18 years of age.