Triplet repeat polymorphism in the MICA gene in HLA-B27 positive and negative Caucasian patients with ankylosing spondylitis

Previously, we reported a triplet repeat polymorphism in the transmembrane region within the MICA gene closely linked to HLA-B in a limited number of B27-positive Caucasian patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) (N = 48). In this study, we enrolled much more patients including some negative for B27, 162 AS subjects consisting of 140 B27-positive, and 22 B27-negative patients. The microsatellite allele consisting of 4 repetitions of (GCT/AGC) (A4 allele) was present at a significantly higher phenotype frequency in the patient group than in the ethnically matched control group (Pc < 0.000001). However, the frequency of the A4 allele was not significantly higher in the B27-positive and B27-negative patient groups, as compared to the B27-positive and B27-negative control groups, respectively. The higher phenotype frequency of the A4 allele in the patient group was supposed to be due to a strong linkage disequilibrium between the MICA and HLA-B genes. Thus, the possibility that the MICA gene is involved in the pathogenesis of AS can be excluded, supporting the hypothesis of a primary association of AS with HLA-B27. (C) American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, 1999. Published by Elsevier Science Inc.