Microsatellite mapping of a susceptible locus within the HLA region for Behcet's disease using Jordanian patients

Behcet's disease (BD) has been established to be associated with HLA-B51. H owever, it has not been revealed whether the HLA-B51 gene itself for anothe r gene located near the HLA-B gene is directly involved in the pathogenesis of ED. Previously, using Japanese ED patients, our group has narrowed down a ED-causative gene to 46 kb between the MICA and HLA-E genes by means of fine mapping analysis with eight microsatellite markers distributed within a 1100 kb segment around the HLA-B gene. To know whether this mapping resul t: is generally observed in ED of another population we have investigated r epeat polymorphisms of the same microsatellite markers in Jordanian ED pati ents. Furthermore, we have evaluated these data by Mantel-Haenzel stratifie d analysis to find out a primarily associated locus for BD. As a result, HL A-B51 was found ro be the most strongly and primarily associated marker. Th is result suggests that the pathogenic gene of ED is HLA-B51 itself, but un likely to be other genes located in the vicinity of HLA-B, (C) American Soc iety for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, 2001. Published by Elsevier Science Inc.