Gender differences in HLA phenotype frequencies found in German patients with generalized aggressive periodontitis and chronic periodontitis

• Published in: Oral microbiology and immunology 2002-12, Vol.17 (6), p.360-368
• Main Authors: Reichert, S., Stein, J., Gautsch, A., Schaller, H.-G., Machulla, H.K. G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; aggressive periodontitis; Alveolar Bone Loss - genetics; Alveolar Bone Loss - immunology; Biological and medical sciences; Chi-Square Distribution; Chronic Disease; chronic periodontitis; Cohort Studies; Confounding Factors (Epidemiology); Cytotoxicity Tests, Immunologic; Facial bones, jaws, teeth, parodontium: diseases, semeiology; Female; gender differences; Gene Frequency; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Germany; Gingival Hemorrhage - genetics; Gingival Hemorrhage - immunology; HLA; HLA Antigens - genetics; HLA-A Antigens - genetics; HLA-DQ Antigens - genetics; HLA-DQ beta-Chains; HLA-DR Antigens - genetics; HLA-DRB1 Chains; Homozygote; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Non tumoral diseases; Otorhinolaryngology. Stomatology; Periodontal Attachment Loss - genetics; Periodontal Attachment Loss - immunology; Periodontitis - genetics; Periodontitis - immunology; Phenotype; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Risk Factors; Sex Factors; Statistics as Topic
• ISSN: 0902-0055; 1399-302X
• DOI: 10.1034/j.1399-302X.2002.170605.x

HLA antigens have been considered as risk factors for periodontitis. Differences in prevalence and in the extent of attachment loss between males and females have suggested that gender‐dependent HLA deviations could play a role in individual predisposition to periodontitis. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate the incidence of gender‐dependent HLA associations in 50 patients with generalized aggressive periodontitis (AP) and 102 patients with chronic periodontitis (CP) in comparison to 102 probands without any attachment loss caused by periodontitis. HLA typing was carried out using a microlymphocytotoxic test and a polymerase chain reaction with sequence‐specific primers (PCR‐SSP). Female AP patients showed an increase in the frequency of HLA‐A*68/69 and a decrease in the frequency of DRBblank* (non‐DRB3/4/5*) and DQB1*05‐positive probands. Only in female CP patients was HLA‐DQB1*0303 absent, whereas HLA‐DQB1*06 homozygosity increased significantly. With regard to the (AP + CP) periodontitis group as a whole, the increased frequency of HLA‐DQB1*06 homozygosity in females was similar to the findings obtained in the AP group. Evidently, gender is a confounding variable, which should be considered in further studies of HLA and periodontitis.