Different HLA class II (DRB1 and DQB1) alleles determine either susceptibility or resistance to NMO and multiple sclerosis among the French Afro-Caribbean population

• Published in: Multiple sclerosis Vol. 17; no. 1; pp. 24 - 31
• Main Authors: Deschamps, R, Paturel, L, Jeannin, S, Chausson, N, Olindo, S, Béra, O, Bellance, R, Smadja, D, Césaire, D, Cabre, P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: UK SAGE Publications 01-01-2011; Sage Publications; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Adult; African Continental Ancestry Group - genetics; Alleles; Biological and medical sciences; Case-Control Studies; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Drb1 protein; Female; Gene Frequency; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Guadeloupe - epidemiology; Histocompatibility antigen HLA; HLA-DQ Antigens - genetics; HLA-DQ beta-Chains; HLA-DR Antigens - genetics; HLA-DRB1 Chains; Humans; Leukocytes; Male; Martinique - epidemiology; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Multiple sclerosis; Multiple Sclerosis - ethnology; Multiple Sclerosis - genetics; Multiple Sclerosis - immunology; Multiple sclerosis and variants. Guillain barré syndrome and other inflammatory polyneuropathies. Leukoencephalitis; Neurology; Neuromyelitis; Neuromyelitis Optica - ethnology; Neuromyelitis Optica - genetics; Neuromyelitis Optica - immunology; Odds Ratio; Peripheral blood; Phenotype; Risk Assessment; Risk Factors; Tissue typing; Young Adult; Martinique; Guadeloupe; genetics; demyelinating; HLA; Afro-Caribbean; multiple sclerosis; neuromyelitis optica; HLA-System; Nervous system diseases; Multiple sclerosis; Optic nerve; Class II histocompatibility antigen; Neurooptic myelitis; Inflammatory disease; Eye disease; Cranial nerve disease; French; Visual pathway; Multiple resistance; Central nervous system disease; Degenerative disease; Spinal cord disease
• ISSN: 1352-4585; 1477-0970
• DOI: 10.1177/1352458510382810

Background:Despite similarities, neuromyelitis optica (NMO) can be distinguished from multiple sclerosis (MS) by clinical, radiological and serological findings.
Objective:This case-control study aimed to determine whether patients with NMO or with MS in an Afro-Caribbean population originating from French West Indies shared the same or different HLA class I and II pattern distribution.
Methods:The association with HLA class II (DRB1 and DQB1) alleles was tested in 42 NMO patients, 163 MS patients and 150 healthy controls. HLA-DRB1 and DQB1 typing was undertaken on genomic DNA extracted from peripheral blood leucocytes.
Results:By comparison with healthy controls, significantly increased frequency of HLA-DRB1*03 (26.2% vs. 13%, odds ratio 2.4, 95% confidence interval 1.31–4.28, p after correction, cp 0.045) was observed in patients with NMO. By contrast, in MS patients, HLA-DRB1*15 (24.8% vs. 13%, odds ratio 2.21, 95% CI 1.45–3.36, cp < 0.0015), but not DRB1*03 allele, was positively associated with the disease. Moreover, a modest protective effect of HLA-DRB1*11 in the MS group, independently of DRB1*15 association, was found (13.7% vs. 7% in controls, odds ratio 0.48, p 0.006), but did not survive Bonferroni correction.
Conclusion:In conclusion, comparison of the HLA-DRB1 and DQB1 distribution in NMO and MS in this Afro-Caribbean population shows important differences in the HLA associations among NMO and MS.