LACK OF ASSOCIATION BETWEEN HLA-DQ AND HLA-DR GENOTYPES AND ASTHMA IN SOUTHERN CHINESE PATIENTS

Asthma is an inflammatory disease with a strong genetic predisposition. We have studied a group of unrelated asthmatic patients of southern Chinese origin on their HLA-DR and -DQ regions using molecular techniques and compared them with 104 healthy controls of the same ethnic origin. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) was used to genotype the MHC class II DR beta, DQ alpha: and DQ beta loci of the subjects. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using sequence specific primer (SSP) for DQ beta genes was also performed. No significant difference was found in the HLA-DQ and -DR loci between the patients and the controls. All patients had their serum IgE antibody levels measured, bronchial reactivity assessed by histamine broncho-provocation and cutaneous reactivity to common allergens determined by skin-prick tests to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoides farinae, mixed grass pollens, Aspergillus fumigatus, cat fur and dog dander and they were classified respectively. The HLA-DR and -DQ genotypes of these subgroups of patients were compared. There was no significant difference among these subgroups of patients according to their serum IgE levels, the degree of bronchial reactivity and whether they were positive for the skin tests for the various allergens respectively. The results suggest that HLA-DQ and -DR genotypes are not associated with asthma in southern Chinese people.