G.L. Shi, X.L. Hu, L. Yang, C.L. Rong, Y.L. Guo and C.X. Song
Published: July 5, 2011
Genet. Mol. Res. 10 (3): 1331-1336
DOI: 10.4238/vol10-3gmr1132

Cite this Article:
G.L. Shi, X.L. Hu, L. Yang, C.L. Rong, Y.L. Guo and C.X. Song (2011). Association between HLA-DRB1*15 allele and pulmonary tuberculosis in the Han nationality from North China. Genet. Mol. Res. 10(3): 1331-1336. 10.4238/vol10-3gmr1132

About the Authors:
G.L. Shi, X.L. Hu, L. Yang, C.L. Rong, Y.L. Guo and C.X. Song
Corresponding author: G.L. Shi
E-mail: shiguangli878@sina.com

ABSTRACT
Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) plays a central role in the regulation of the immune response. HLA class II molecules are essential for T cell-mediated adaptive immunity and present peptide antigens to CD4+ T cells. Because of its important role in the immune response and its high degree of polymorphism, the HLA system is associated with many diseases. We examined the polymorphisms of HLA-DRB alleles and the sequences of the HLA-DRB promoter region in 97 unrelated patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and in 62 unrelated normal controls of the Han nationality from North China, using PCR with sequence-specific primers and PCR direct sequencing. We found that the frequency of HLA-DRB1*15 was significantly higher in the pulmonary tuberculosis group than in the healthy control group. The P value was 0.001, and the odds ratio was 3.793. The pulmonary tuberculosis group had the same HLA-DRB1 promoter region sequences as the control group. We concluded that the HLA-DRB1*15 allele is associated with pulmonary tuberculosis in the Han nationality from North China. The HLA-DRB1 promoter region sequences had no association with the development of pulmonary tuberculosis.

Key words: Pulmonary tuberculosis; Human leukocyte antigen; Gene frequency; Promoter.