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Association between blood group antigens ABO, Rh, Kell, Kidd, Duffy and MNS and clinical forms of Chagas disease
Alexandre G Vizzoni1, Andréa Rodrigues da Costa2, Alejandro M Hasslocher-Moreno2
1Serviço de Hemoterapia.
Insights
Blood group antigens ABO and MNS are linked to chronic Chagas disease (CD) clinical forms. The MNS blood type S+s- allele may reduce cardiac disease odds, while blood group B might increase digestive disease odds.
Area of Science:
- Immunogenetics
- Infectious Diseases
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Mechanisms driving chronic Chagas disease (CD) progression to cardiac or digestive forms remain largely unknown.
- Investigating host genetic factors, specifically blood group antigens, may elucidate disease pathogenesis.
- Previous research has not extensively explored the association between specific blood group systems and CD clinical manifestations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the association between ABO, Rh, Kell, Kidd, Duffy, and MNS blood group antigens and the clinical forms of chronic Chagas disease.
- To identify potential genetic markers influencing disease progression in Chagas disease patients.
- To contribute to a better understanding of the host-parasite interactions in chronic Chagas disease.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 619 adult patients with chronic Chagas disease was analyzed.
- Clinical and epidemiological data were collected via electronic medical records and interviews.
- Blood group antigens were phenotyped using ID-Gel Card technology; clinical forms were classified according to the Brazilian Consensus on CD.
Main Results:
- The MNS blood type S+s- allele was associated with a reduced likelihood of developing cardiac Chagas disease.
- The B blood group antigen showed a statistically significant association with an increased odds of developing the digestive form of Chagas disease.
- No significant associations were found between other tested blood group systems (ABO, Rh, Kell, Kidd, Duffy) and the clinical forms of chronic Chagas disease.
Conclusions:
- The ABO and MNS blood group systems are associated with the clinical progression of chronic Chagas disease.
- Specific alleles within the MNS system and the B antigen of the ABO system may play a role in determining cardiac versus digestive disease phenotypes.
- Further research is warranted to elucidate the biological mechanisms underlying these associations.
Background:
The mechanisms that determine the progression to cardiac or digestive forms of chronic Chagas disease (CD) are still unclear. We assessed the association between blood group antigens ABO, Rh, Kell, Kidd, Duffy and MNS, and chronic CD clinical forms.
Methods:
Patients were included consecutively between March 2013 and April 2016. Clinical and epidemiological data were obtained from electronic medical records and interviews. Classification of CD clinical forms followed the Brazilian Consensus on CD. The ID-Gel Card technology from Bio-Rad (Diamed/Bio-Rad Latin America, MG, Brazil) was used to analyze the blood group antigens.
Results:
A total of 619 adult patients (56.9% women, mean age 60±12 y) were included. Patients' clinical forms of CD were classified as follows: indeterminate 29.1%, cardiac 55.4%, digestive 5.5% and mixed 10.0%. Logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, comorbidities and time away from an endemic area revealed that the S+s- allele of the MNS blood type was associated with a lower odds of cardiac disease and that the B blood group type was associated with a higher odds of digestive disease. All other blood types did not have an association with CD clinical form.
Conclusions:
Blood group systems ABO and MNS were associated with chronic CD clinical forms.
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