GENETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY TO MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS IN A SHANGHAI CHINESE POPULATION - THE ROLE OF THE HLA CLASS-II GENES

The association of MS with the HLA class II loci DR and DQ was investi gated in subjects of Shanghai Chinese and British Caucasian origin. Ou r aim was to determine whether common alleles predispose to the diseas e in both races. In the Caucasian population MS was significantly posi tively associated with the putative haplotype DRB11501, DQA1*0102, DQ B10602. In contrast, HLA class II alleles were not found to predispos e to the disease in the Shanghai Chinese, suggesting that this haploty pe is unlikely to be a universal susceptibility determinant. The absen ce of a disease association with the HLA-DR and -DQ genes in the Chine se population has a number of possible explanations. Our study suggest s that other genetic and/or environmental components may be more impor tant in determining susceptibility to MS in this race.