LACK OF EVIDENCE OF A SIGNIFICANT ASSOCIATION BETWEEN HLA-DR, DQ AND DP GENOTYPES AND ATOPY IN FAMILIES WITH HDM ALLERGY

Background HLA class II genetic polymorphism has been variably implica ted in susceptibility to specific immune responsiveness to house dust mite (HDM) allergens, and may also influence the development of atopy. Objective In order to assess accurately the influence of HLA alleles in the atopic immune response, we typed 22 families selected from 131 previously obtained randomly selected families (i.e. without regard to atopy or asthma basis of two or more members having skin prick reacti vity to HDM. Methods Each individual was fully typed for HLA-DRB1, DQA 1 DQB1 and DPB1 class II alleles using a combination of sequence-speci fic oligonucleotide probes (SSOP) and sequence-specific primer (SSP) p olymerase chain reaction (PCR) typing and direct sequencing. Results U sing appropriate statistical tests, no significant allelic association s were found between any DRB1, DQB1 or DPB1 alleles and atopy or skin prick reactivity to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Der p) or D. farin ae (Der f). However, positive associations were found between DQA1030 1 and skin prick reactivity to Der f (P = 0.009) and atopy (P = 0.027) . Sib-pair analysis revealed no significant sharing of alleles between affected sib pairs for any of the phenotypes studied. Conclusion Thes e results fail to confirm a previously reported association between th e DRB104 and 07 haplotypes and atopy, and suggest that HLA class II r estriction does not play a major role in the development of the IgE re sponse to domestic house dust mite allergens in the British population .