M. Eoli et al., NO LINKAGE BETWEEN MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS AND THE T-CELL RECEPTOR-ALPHA CHAIN LOCUS, Journal of the neurological sciences, 124(1), 1994, pp. 32-37
Susceptibility to multiple sclerosis (MS) is genetically determined bu
t it is thought that more than one gene contributes to development of
the disease. We report a study of linkage to one candidate, the T cell
receptor ct chain locus, on chromosome 14, in affected sibling pairs.
Markers with high polymorphism information contents were used to assi
gn haplotypes identical by descent and state. Forty nine pairs were st
udied using restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) and 82 pa
irs were investigated using a microsatellite repeat polymorphism. In n
either case did genotype or haplotype sharing differ significantly fro
m expected rates. Stratification of patients according to DR15 status
did not alter the distribution of haplotypes in affected siblings. We
conclude that the T cell receptor alpha locus is not linked to suscept
ibility in patients with MS from the United Kingdom.