Allergy to dermatophagoides in a group of Spanish gypsies: Genetic restrictions

Background. Spanish gypsies have traditionally lived as nomads, a reason wh y few epidemiological studies were done in this ethnic group. However, the high prevalence of asthmatic diseases demonstrated in a population residing in the North of Spain induces us to analyse whether it was due to the infl uence of genetic loci previously implicated in other population studies as causing the disorders. Methods: DRB1* and DQB1* HLA class II, TCR-V alpha8. 1, Fc epsilon RI-beta Rsa I exon 7 and intron 2, TNF-beta (LT alpha -Nco I) and CD14, were tested for association with asthma and atopy by multiple re gression analysis, in 5 families comprising 87 individuals. Results: Signif icant associations were found with DQB1*02 (p = 0.02) and DQB1*0301 (p = 0. 008) and elevated levels of total serum IgE. A negative association (p = 0. 02) was found between total serum IgE and DRB1*14. Fc epsilon RI-beta Rsa I -In2 allele 1 was associated with high levels of total serum IgE (p = 0.04) . Levels of Der p 1 IgE antibodies were negatively associated with DRB1*11- DQB1*0301 (p = 0.007), and positively with TCR V alpha -8 allele 1 (p = 0.0 4) and with Fc epsilon RI-beta Rsa I-In2 allele 1 (p = 0.009). Conclusions: Our results do not show any association between asthma and the genetic loc i studied although they do suggest the existence of multiple genetic influe nces on the allergic response in these families. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karg er AG, Basel.