Influence of HLA-B5703 and HLA-B1403 on Susceptibility to Spondyloarthropathies in the Zambian Population

• Published in: Journal of rheumatology 2008-11, Vol.35 (11), p.2236-2240
• Main Authors: ROBERTO DÍAZ-PEÑA, MIGUEL ANGEL BLANCO-GELAZ, PANGANANI NJOBVU, ANTONIO LÓPEZ-VAZQUEZ, BEATRIZ SUÁREZ-ÁLVAREZ, CARLOS LÓPEZ-LARREA
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Arthritis, Reactive - ethnology; Arthritis, Reactive - genetics; Biological and medical sciences; Diseases of the osteoarticular system; Diseases of the spine; Female; Gene Frequency; Genetic Predisposition to Disease - ethnology; HIV Infections - ethnology; HLA-B Antigens - genetics; HLA-B27 Antigen - genetics; Humans; Incidence; Inflammatory joint diseases; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Risk Factors; Spondylitis, Ankylosing - ethnology; Spondylitis, Ankylosing - genetics; Young Adult; Zambia - epidemiology
• ISSN: 0315-162X; 1499-2752
• DOI: 10.3899/jrheum.080395

Objective To analyze the distribution of HLA-B alleles and to investigate their contribution in the susceptibility to spondyloarthropathies (SpA) in a sample population from Zambia, in order to determine a relationship between some HLA-B alleles and development of ankylosing spondylitis (AS), reactive arthritis (ReA), or undifferentiated SpA (uSpA). Methods We selected 72 patients with SpA and found that 46 had uSpA, 23 ReA, and 3AS.We also selected 92 matched controls; 55 of these had human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-I) infection. Results We found a significant increase in the rate of uSpA and ReA with features of Reiter’s syndrome (RS) in HIV-positive individuals who carried the HLA-B*5703 allele (p c < 0.0001 and p c < 0.001, respectively). Among the significant new findings identified were the presence of B*1403 in 2 of the 3 AS patients (p c < 0.05, OR 47), confirming previous data in the Togolese population. Conclusion The presence of B*5703 and HIV infection may not affect susceptibility to AS and ReA, but they do show an important influence in uSpA and RS. Our findings confirm that HLA-B* 1403 is the only factor to increase the risk of AS in a sub-Saharan African population, whereas HLA-B27 was virtually absent in patients with AS. Key Indexing Terms: SPONDYLOARTHROPATHIES MAJOR HISTOCOMPATIBILITY COMPLEX HLA-B*1403 HLA-B*5703 ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS