HLA-DR genotypes in familial rheumatoid arthritis: increased frequency of protective and neutral alleles in a multicase family

OBJECTIVE: We describe a unique family where each of the 5 siblings in the second generation has rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Two other members of the family have RA and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), respectively. No members of previous generations in the family had documented inflammatory arthr...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of rheumatology 2005-12, Vol.32 (12), p.2299-2302
Main Authors: ZSILAK, Szilvia, GAL, Janos, HODINKA, Laszlo, RAJCZY, Katalin, BALOG, Attila, SIPKA, Sandor, BARATH, Sandor, KAPITANY, Aniko, ZILAHI, Erika, SZEKANECZ, Zoltan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Arthritis, Rheumatoid - genetics
Biological and medical sciences
Diseases of the osteoarticular system
Female
Gene Frequency
Genetic Predisposition to Disease
Genotype
HLA-DR Antigens - genetics
HLA-DRB1 Chains
Humans
Inflammatory joint diseases
Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic - genetics
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Pedigree
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:OBJECTIVE: We describe a unique family where each of the 5 siblings in the second generation has rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Two other members of the family have RA and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), respectively. No members of previous generations in the family had documented inflammatory arthritis. Due to the suspected genetic predisposition, HLA-DR genotypes were determined in the affected siblings and their parents, children, and grandchildren. We investigated the possible role of various HLA-DR alleles in the evolution of RA in this multicase family. METHODS: HLA-DRB1* alleles were determined by polymerase chain reaction using the sequence-specific primer-Olerup method. RESULTS: The most common alleles in the 6 persons with RA were HLA-DRB1*07 and DRB1*15, which are known to be protective and neutral in RA. No patient or family member carried any HLA-DR4 alleles. CONCLUSION: HLA-DRB1*07 and DRB1*15 alleles are thought to be protective or neutral in RA. However, the majority of RA patients in the family and nearly half of all family members carried these alleles, suggesting a role of these genotypes in susceptibility to RA. No RA patient in this family carried HLA-DR4 alleles. Thus, in our rare family with 6 RA cases, an unexpected genetic background may be involved in the increased susceptibility to inflammatory arthritis.
ISSN:0315-162X
1499-2752