HLA class II alleles and multiple sclerosis in Tunisian patients

International audience Objective The aim of our study was to investigate the association of HLA-DRB1 and -DQB1 alleles with multiple sclerosis (MS) in a Tunisian population and their effect on age at onset and disease severity Methods 58 MS patients and 105 healthy controls were genotyped for HLA class II alleles by PCR-SSP technique Results An association of MS with HLA-DRB1*15 was found (147% vs 3 8%, OR (95% CI) = 4 34 (1 69-11 39) P(c) = 2 5 x 10(-3)) after Bonferroni's correction Moreover the DRB1*15-DQB1*06 (138% vs 28%, OR (95% CI) = 5 44 (1 92-17 41) p(c) = 1 1 x 10(-3)) and DRB1*04-DQB1*04 (86% vs 19% OR (95% CI)- 4 86 (1 36-21 62) p(c) = 0 028) haplotypes were found to confer a susceptibility to multiple sclerosis Conclusion To our knowledge this is the first study performed to analyze the association of HLA-DRB1/DQB1 alleles on MS susceptibility in Tunisia The modern Tunisian gene pool shows some degree of heterogeneity and reflects a significant gene flow from Mediterranean regions (C) 2010 Elsevier B V All rights reserved