HLA-B*5101 in Greek patients with Behçet's disease

Area of Science:

• Immunogenetics
• Rheumatology
• Systemic Vasculitis

Background:

• Behçet's disease (BD) is a recurrent systemic vasculitis with unknown etiology.
• Genetic factors, particularly HLA associations, are implicated in BD pathogenesis.
• Previous studies show a strong link between HLA-B51 and BD across various ethnic groups.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between HLA-B51 alleles and BD in the Greek population.
• To explore the influence of sex, age of onset, and disease severity on this association.
• To identify specific HLA alleles predisposing to BD in a distinct ethnic cohort.

Main Methods:

• A case-control study involving 62 Greek BD patients and 87 controls.
• Serological HLA Class-I typing using microlymphocytotoxicity.
• HLA-DNA typing for the B5 group via PCR-SSO.

Main Results:

• The B*5101 allele was significantly more frequent in BD patients (80%) than controls (26%), with an odds ratio (OR) of 10.48.
• B*5101 was associated with an earlier age of BD onset and a higher risk of erythema nodosum (OR = 11).
• Males carrying B*5101 had a higher BD risk (OR 16.97) compared to females (OR 5.74).

Conclusions:

• The HLA-B*5101 allele is a significant predisposing genetic marker for Behçet's disease in the Greek population.
• This allele is linked to earlier disease onset and the development of erythema nodosum in both sexes.
• The findings reinforce the role of HLA-B51 in BD pathogenesis across diverse ethnic groups.