Most patients with
chronic renal failure develop
end-stage renal disease (
ESRD) that requires
renal transplantation. This study investigates the possible associations between human leucocyte
antigen (HLA) Class I and Class II molecules with
ESRD. Genotyping data (HLA) obtained between 2005 and 2009 on 235 unrelated Saudi patients (147 males, 88 females; mean age: 58 +/- 7 years) with
ESRD awaiting
renal transplantation were assessed retrospectively at the King Khalid University Hospital. Data were compared with the results on 60 normal, healthy, unrelated Saudi individuals (37 males and 23 females; mean age: 51 +/- 5 years). HLA Class I and
Class II antigens were detected by lymphocytotoxicity and a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method using DNA sequence-specific primers. Although present in small numbers,
HLA Cw2 was found in significantly fewer patients (n = 11; 4.68%) compared to normal subjects (n = 9; 15%) and was found to confer protection against
ESRD (P = 0.005; relative risk [RR]: 3.594, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.415-9.126). Among the HLA
Class II antigens,
HLA DQB1*03(8) was detected more frequently in the patient group (n = 65; 27.6%) than in the normal controls (n = 9; 15%) and was positively associated with risk of
ESRD (P = 0.04; RR: 0.462, 95% CI: 0.215-0.991). No significant differences were observed between the two groups in respect of
HLA-A2, HLA-B50(21), HLA-B51(5) and
HLA-Cw7 (HLA Class I), and
HLA-DRB1*04,
HLA-DRB1*07 and
HLA-DQB1*02 (HLA Class II). Occurrence of the most frequent HLA alleles was no different between the
ESRD group and the controls. The protective role of
HLA-Cw2 and the marginal susceptibility associated with HLA-DQBI*03(8) for
ESRD requires further investigation.