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Published on: May 30, 2020
Research to Practice Implications of High-Risk Genotypes for Beryllium Sensitization and Disease
Kathleen Kreiss1, Ethan D Fechter-Leggett, Erin C McCanlies
1Respiratory Health Division (Drs Kreiss, Fechter-Leggett, Schuler [former affiliation], Weston), Health Effects Laboratory Division (Drs McCanlies, Weston [former affiliation]), and Division of Safety Research, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia (Dr Schuler).
Objective:
Beryllium workers may better understand their genetic susceptibility to chronic beryllium disease (CBD) expressed as population-based prevalence, rather than odds ratios from case-control studies.
Methods:
We calculated CBD prevalences from allele-specific DNA sequences of 853 workers for Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA)-DPB1 genotypes and groups characterized by number of E69-containing alleles and by calculated surface electronegativity of HLA-DPB1.
Results:
Of 18 groups of at least 10 workers with specific genotypes, CBD prevalence was highest, 72.7%, for the HLA-DPB102:01:02/DPB117:01 genotype. Population-based grouped genotypes with two E69 alleles wherein one allele had -9 surface charge had a beryllium sensitization (BeS) of 52.6% and a CBD prevalence of 42.1%.
Conclusions:
The high CBD and BeS prevalences associated with -9-charged E69 alleles and two E69s suggest that workers may benefit from knowing their genetic susceptibility in deciding whether to avoid future beryllium exposure.
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