Autism is a severe
neurodevelopmental disorder. Many susceptible causative genes have been identified. Most of the previous reports showed the relationship between the
Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) gene and etiology of
autism. In order to identify
HLA-B alleles associated with
autism in Thai population, we compared the frequency of
HLA-B allele in 364 autistic subjects with 952 normal subjects by using a two-stage sequence-specific
oligonucleotide probe system (PCR-SSOP) method based on flow-cytometry technology.
HLA-B (⁎) 13:02 (P = 0.019, OR = 2.229),
HLA-B (⁎) 38:02 (P = 0.049, OR = 1.628),
HLA-B (⁎) 44:03 (P = 0.016, OR = 1.645), and
HLA-B (⁎) 56:01 (P = 1.78 × 10(-4), OR = 4.927) alleles were significantly increased in autistic subjects compared with normal subjects. Moreover, we found that the
HLA-B (⁎) 18:02 (P = 0.016, OR = 0.375) and
HLA-B (⁎) 46:12 (P = 0.008, OR = 0.147) alleles were negatively associated with
autism when compared to normal controls. Both alleles might have a protective role in disease development. In addition, four
HLA-B genotypes of autistic patients had statistically significant relationship with control groups, consisting of
HLA-B (⁎) 3905/(⁎) 5801 (P = 0.032, OR = 24.697),
HLA-B (⁎) 2704/(⁎) 5801 (P = 0.022, OR = 6.872),
HLA-B (⁎) 3501/(⁎) 4403 (P = 0.021, OR = 30.269), and
HLA-B (⁎) 1801/(⁎) 4402 (P = 0.017, OR = 13.757). This is the first report on
HLA-B associated with Thai
autism and may serve as a marker for
genetic susceptibility to
autism in Thai population.