Association analysis of human leukocyte antigen class II (DRB1) alleles with leprosy in individuals from São Luís, state of Maranhão, Brazil

Abstract

Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that the variability of the clinical response to infection caused by Mycobacterium leprae is associated with host genetic factors. The present study investigated the frequency of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II (DRB1) alleles in patients with leprosy from São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil. A case-control study was performed in 85 individuals with leprosy and 85 healthy subjects. All samples were analysed via polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific oligonucleotide probes. The HLA-DRB1*16 allele showed a higher frequency in the group with leprosy [(9.41% vs. 4.12%) odds ratio (OR) = 2.41 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.96-6.08) p = 0.05], whereas the HLA-DRB1*11 allele was less frequent in the group with leprosy [(6.47% vs. 11.76%) OR = 0.51 95% CI (0.23-1.12) p = 0.09]. The frequency of HLA-DRB1* alleles between the control group and leprosy patient subgroups presenting different forms of the disease showed that the HLA-DRB1*16 (16.13% vs. 8.24%, OR = 4.10, CI = 1.27-13.27, p = 0.010) and HLA-DRB1*14 (5% vs. 3.53%, OR = 4.63, CI = 1.00-21.08, p = 0.032) alleles were significantly more frequent in patients with different clinical subtypes of leprosy. The sample size was a limitation in this study. Nevertheless, the results demonstrated the existence of a genetic susceptibility associated with the clinical forms of leprosy. The low frequency of the HLA-DRB1*11 allele should be further studied to investigate the possible protective effect of this allele.

Histórico do tratamento da hanseníase

“…c) Análise da diversidade genética: O sequenciamento do genoma possibilita a investigação da diversidade genética da M. leprae, permitindo um entendimento mais abrangente da epidemiologia da doença. Isso é crucial para rastrear a disseminação das diferentes cepas e desenvolver estratégias de controle mais eficientes e personalizadas para diferentes regiões geográficas (Corrêa, et al, 2012). d) Aprimoramento do diagnóstico: A análise genômica da M. leprae tem o potencial de melhorar os métodos de diagnóstico da lepra.…”

Estado da arte na hanseníase: Revisão integrativa em três periódicos brasileiros de impacto internacional

“…Concernente a susceptibilidade ao desenvolvimento da hanseníase, publicações têm ressaltado os fatores genéticos ligados ao mesmo, inclusive destacando a presença de M. leprae com genótipos variantes conforme áreas endêmicas do Brasil, o que sugere que esses clusters endêmicos devem possuir perfil genético de susceptibilidade distinto 28,38 .…”

HLA and Infectious Diseases

“…However, the main restriction determinants for M. leprae seem to reside on DR or DQ molecules. The HLA-DR2 molecule [26][27][28], later identified as DRB1*15 and DRB1*16 variants, is primarily associated with leprosy or different clinical forms [29][30][31][32][33]. Risk for leprosy associated with DRB1*10 has been described in Turkish, Vietnamese, and Brazilian populations [30,34], whereas HLA-DRB1*14 has been associated with the TT group in a population from northeastern Brazil [33] and with leprosy per se in the Argentinean population [35].…”