The aim of this study was to examine whether the association of
psoriatic arthritis (PsA) with
human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I genes is secondary to linkage disequilibrium with a nearby gene. We examined a sample of the Jewish population to investigate whether
HLA-B/C and DR polymorphism is associated with susceptibility, or whether other closely related class I loci, such as the major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related gene A (
MICA) and
tumor necrosis factor (TNF), might play a role in disease development. Comparisons of different populations with different HLA profiles would be of value in identifying the candidate genes involved in PSA. Fifty-two patients with PsA and 73 random matched controls from a Jewish population were selected and
DNA typed by polymerase chain reaction-single-strand
oligonucleotide probe (PCR-SSOP) (
HLA-C), PCR sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP) (
HLA-B, -DR), radioactive PCR (
MICA-TM polymorphism in the transmembrane region), and PCR-RFLP (TNF). Some findings can be concluded from the study: (1) the frequency of
HLA-B*5701, B*3801, B*39, B*27, Cw*0602, Cw*07, DRB1*0402, and DRB1*0701 were not found to be significantly increased in PsA; (2) no significant differences of
TNFalpha promoter alleles at positions -308 and -238 were found between PsA and healthy controls; (3) the trinucleotide repeat polymorphism MICA-A9 was present at a higher frequency in PsA patients, (p(c) < 0.009, RR = 3.34, EF = 0.39); and (4) MICA-A9 polymorphism was found in linkage disequilibrium with
HLA-B alleles (B*5701, B*3801) described to be associated with PsA in Caucasians. These results suggest that the
MICA gene or other nearby gene(s) may be involved in the development of PsA, and it would thus appear that
psoriasis vulgaris (PsV) and PsA are associated with different MHC susceptibility genes.