Association between hepatic alveolar echinococcosis and frequency of human leukocyte antigen class I and II alleles in Turkish patients.

BACKGROUND

Human alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a potentially fatal, chronically progressive hepatic infestation that is characterized by a long asymptomatic period in which an invasive tumor-like lesion develops. Several studies have suggested that genetic susceptibility to AE may be linked to HLA class II alleles. We investigated the association between AE and antigen HLA-A, B, C, DR and DQ profiles of patients with hepatic AE (HAE) in the eastern part of Turkey.

METHODS

This case-controlled study was performed on 44 unrelated patients with HAE and 76 control subjects. The diagnosis was supported by clinical, radiological, and histopathological evidence. The association of class I and class II HLA antigens was examined in the patients with HAE and control subjects.

RESULTS

There was an increase in the antigen frequencies of HLA-DRB1*15, HLA-DQB1*02, 06, 07 in the HAE patientscompared with those in the control group (P < 0.05, P < 0.001, P < 0.01, P < 0.05, respectively). HLA-DQB1*02, 06, 07 were more frequent in patients with stages III and IV who were classified according to the PNM staging system.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study indicates that susceptibility to HAE in the Turkish population is essentially HLA class II and poorly class I mediated, with HLA-26, and DRB1*015, DQB1* 02, 06, 07 with more allele distribution in the patient group. Our results are not similar to those of other studies, but contribute to the discussions on the association of HLA class I and class II alleles with AE.