FREQUENCY ANALYSIS OF HLA ANTIGENS IN IRANIAN PATIENTS WITH COMMON VARIABLE IMMUNODEFICIENCY

Background – The etiology of most primary immunodeficiency disorders is unknown, though a variety of genetic imbalances have been reported to be implicated. The histocompatibility locus antigen (HLA) genes and antigens play a decisive role in immune regulation. Therefore, lower or higher representation of some HLA alleles may contribute to the presentation of some immunodeficiency conditions. One important human immunodeficiency that has recently been shown to be associated with particular HLA antigens is common variable immunodeficiency (CVID). We investigated for the first time the association between HLA antigens and this condition in Iranian patients. Methods – Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-transformed B-cell lines established from 16 patients with CVID and 85 healthy controls were screened using the microlymphocytotoxicity method, with a panel of anti-HLA antisera. The statistical of differences was determined using Chi-squere test with Yate’s correction. Results – Expression of HLA-A2 (p < 0.02) and A33 (p < 0.001) was significantly increased in patients compared to controls. A significant negative association was also evident for DR2 (p < 0.05), DR7 (p < 0.001), DR52 (p < 0.05), and DQ2 (p < 0.05) alleles. Conclusion – Our study demonstrated a significantly greater representation of HLA-A2 and A33 and lower frequencies of HLA-DR2, DR7, DR52, and DQ2 in patients compared to controls. This may suggest involvement of the HLA complex in the presentation of CVID in the Iranian population.