HLA Associations in a Cohort of Children With Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis With and Without Uveitis

• Published in: Investigative ophthalmology & visual science 2015-09, Vol.56 (10), p.6043-6048
• Main Authors: Angeles-Han, Sheila T, McCracken, Courtney, Yeh, Steven, Jang, Se Ryeong, Jenkins, Kirsten, Cope, Spencer, Bohnsack, John, Hersh, Aimee, Thompson, Susan D, Prahalad, Sampath
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alleles; Arthritis, Juvenile - complications; Arthritis, Juvenile - genetics; Arthritis, Juvenile - immunology; Child, Preschool; DNA - genetics; Female; Gene Expression Regulation; HLA-DRB1 Chains - genetics; HLA-DRB1 Chains - immunology; HLA-DRB1 Chains - metabolism; Humans; Male; Retina; Uveitis - complications; Uveitis - genetics; Uveitis - immunology
• ISSN: 1552-5783; 0146-0404; 1552-5783
• DOI: 10.1167/iovs.15-17168

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)-associated uveitis can lead to ocular complications and vision loss. Alleles HLA-DRB1*08, *11, and *13 are risk alleles for JIA, whereas HLA-DRB1*11 and *13 alleles increase uveitis susceptibility. We examined the association of common HLA-DRB1 alleles in children with JIA alone and JIA-associated uveitis. High-resolution HLA-DRB1 genotyping was performed in 107 children with oligoarticular and polyarticular rheumatoid factor (RF) negative JIA and 373 non-Hispanic white controls. Children with JIA alone and JIA-associated uveitis were of similar race, ethnicity, sex, and age at arthritis diagnosis. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. There were 47 children with JIA-associated uveitis and 60 with JIA alone. Compared to controls, only children with JIA-associated uveitis had increased odds of carriage of HLA-DRB1*11 (OR, 2.2 95% [CI, 1.1-4.3], P = 0.023). There also was increased carriage of HLA-DRB1*08 and *13 (OR, 12.6 [95% CI, 2.0-77.8], P = 0.011). Compared to controls and children with JIA alone, those with JIA-associated uveitis had increased odds of carriage of HLA-DRB1*11 and *13 (OR, 9 [95% CI, 2.8-29.0], P < 0.0001 and OR, 8.6 [95% CI, 1.0-74.4], P = 0.042), respectively. We report the novel finding that carriage of HLA-DRB1*11 and *13 appears to increase the risk of uveitis in children with JIA.