Association Study between Multiple Sclerosis Disease and HLA DQA0102*1 in South-West Iran

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory and degenerative disease of the human central nervous system (CNS). Genetic aberrations of autoimmunity pathway components have been proven to significantly influence MS development. According to genome wide association studies (GWAS), HLA in the 6p21 locus seem to be associated with the MS. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the remarkable association of one allele at 6p21 locus, HLA DQA1*0102, with MS in South-West Iran.
In this case-control study, HLA DQA1*0102 was analyzed in MS patients. The collected blood samples belonging to 205 MS patients (case group) and 202 healthy individuals (control group) were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction using specific sequence primers (PCR-SSP) technique, and we examined the relationship of genotypes with risk factors such as gender, age, phase of the disease and other clinical parameters. Data analyzed using SPSS 16 statistical software and chi square test
We observed a significant difference in the frequency distribution of HLA DQA1*0102 (OR = 0.37; 95% CI = 0.23-0.67; P-value = 0.006) between patients and controls. Strong association was found between the HLA DQA1*0102 and Intestinal symptoms of MS (P = 0.029). However, there was no association between HLA DQA1*0102 and various classifications and severity of MS. No significant association was found between this allele in Arabs as compared with the control group.
The higher frequency of HLA DQA1*0102 in controls indicates that HLA DQA1*0102 may play a protective role against developing MS. This study is in line with previous study in Iran; but contrasts with most of the studies in European populations and is the first study reporting in southwest Iran and Arab population.