Abstract
Purpose: :
Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease is an immune-mediated disorder with autoimmune insult directed against antigens associated with melanocytes. Previous studies have shown an increased risk among certain HLA genotypes and it has been suggested that HLA-DRB1 gene is one of the candidate genes for susceptibility to VKH. In Saudi Arabia, there has been no study on the genetic predisposition among VKH patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of HLA-DRB1 alleles with VKH patients in Saudi Arabia.
Methods: :
A total of 20 patients with VKH were included. Nineteen control subjects matched by age and sex were included. Approval was procured from the Institutional Review Board. Genomic DNA was isolated from peripheral blood using the GENTRA extraction Kit (Gentra Systems, USA). The determination of the HLA-DRB1 alleles was carried out by ATRIA GENETICS (AllelSEQR HLA Sequencing Kit). PCR Amplification of the HLA-DRB1 gene was carried out by gene-specific PCR Pre-mixes and 0.1 µl of hot-start DNA polymerase, AmpliTag Gold. Thermal condition of the PCR was carried out.
Results: :
There was no statistically significant difference in the HLA-DRB alleles 01, 0101, 0102, 0301, 04, 0403, and 0404 between VKH patients and control subjects. Eight (40%) out of 20 patients with VKH had positive HLA-DRB1 *0405 compared to two (26%) out of 19 control subjects. There was a statistically significant difference in the prevalence of HLA-DRB1 *0405 between the VKH patients and control subjects (p <0.05). Other HLA-DRB1 alleles including *0701, 1001, 1101, 1112, 1301, 1302, 1303, 1501 and 1502 showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups.
Conclusions: :
Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada is associated with HLA-DRB1 *0405. Patients with VKH in Saudi Arabia may have genetic predisposition to environmental triggers that precipitate the clinical manifestations.
Keywords: choroid • uvea • retina