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Updated: Jan 31, 2026

An Allele-specific Gene Expression Assay to Test the Functional Basis of Genetic Associations
Published on: November 3, 2010
Association of HLA alleles with autism
Arezou Sayad1, Mohammad Taghi Akbari2, Rezvan Noroozi3
1Department of Medical Genetics, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, s.ghafourifard@sbmu.ac.ir.
Background:
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorders known by impaired social interaction and activities and abnormal repetitive behavior. As a multifactorial disorder, several genetic and immunological factors have been shown to be implicated in its pathogenesis.
Methods:
Among them are certain human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles. In the current study, we genotyped HLA-A, -B & DRB alleles in 103 Iranian ASD patients and 180 age, gender, and ethnic-matched healthy controls.
Results:
After Boferroni correction no allele or haplotype was associated with genetic susceptibility to ASD in Iranian population.
Conclusion:
Future studies are needed to assess contribution of immunological factors such as HLA alleles in ASD pathogenesis.
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