Shared epitope alleles remain a risk factor for anti-citrullinated proteins antibody (ACPA)--positive rheumatoid arthritis in three Asian ethnic groups.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

To investigate the associations between HLA-DRB1 shared epitope (SE) alleles and rheumatoid arthritis in subsets of rheumatoid arthritis defined by autoantibodies in three Asian populations from Malaysia.

METHODS:

1,079 rheumatoid arthritis patients and 1,470 healthy controls were included in the study. Levels of antibodies to citrullinated proteins (ACPA) and rheumatoid factors were assessed and the PCR-SSO method was used for HLA-DRB1 genotyping.

RESULTS:

The proportion of ACPA positivity among Malay, Chinese and Indian rheumatoid arthritis patients were 62.9%, 65.2% and 68.6%, respectively. An increased frequency of SE alleles was observed in ACPA-positive rheumatoid arthritis among the three Asian ethnic groups. HLA-DRB1*10 was highly associated with rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility in these Asian populations. HLA-DRB1*0405 was significantly associated with susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis in Malays and Chinese, but not in Indians. HLA-DRB1*01 did not show any independent effect as a risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis in this study and HLA-DRB1*1202 was protective in Malays and Chinese. There was no association between SE alleles and ACPA- negative rheumatoid arthritis in any of the three Asian ethnic groups.

CONCLUSION:

The HLA-DRB1 SE alleles increase the risk of ACPA-positive rheumatoid arthritis in all three Asian populations from Malaysia.

• Authors: Too Chun-Lai, Leonid Padyukov, Jasbir Singh Dhaliwal, Emeli Lundström, Abqariyah Yahya, Nor Asiah Muhamad, Lars Klareskog, Lars Alfredsson, Per Tobias Larsson, Shahnaz Murad, Malaysian Epidemiological Investigation of Rheumatoid Arthritis (MyEIRA) Study Group
• Journal: PloS one (PLoS One) Vol. 6 Issue 6 Pg. e21069 ( 2011) ISSN: 1932-6203 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 21698259 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Antibodies
• Epitopes
• HLA-DR Antigens
• HLA-DRB1 Chains
• HLA-DRB1*12:02 antigen
• Citrulline
• Rheumatoid Factor

Topics

• Alleles
• Antibodies (chemistry, genetics)
• Asia (ethnology)
• Citrulline (immunology)
• Epitopes (genetics)
• Ethnicity
• Female
• HLA-DR Antigens (genetics)
• HLA-DRB1 Chains
• Humans
• Male
• Rheumatoid Factor (immunology)
• Risk Factors