Frequency of HLA-DRB1 gene alleles in patients with multiple sclerosis in a Lithuanian population.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of HLA-DRB1 alleles on the genetic susceptibility to multiple sclerosis in the Lithuanian population. MATERIAL AND METHODS. A total of 120 patients with multiple sclerosis and 120 unrelated healthy controls were enrolled in this case-control study. Allelic frequencies were compared between the groups. HLA-DRB1 alleles were genotyped using the polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS. HLA-DRB1*15 was present in 55.8% of the patients with multiple sclerosis and 10.0% of the controls (OR, 5.58; 95% CI, 3.19-9.77; P<0.0001). The protective alleles that were found to be more prevalent among the controls compared with the patients with multiple sclerosis were HLA-DRB1*01 (26.7% vs. 7.5%, P<0.0001), *03 (17.5% vs. 8.3%, P=0.034), and *16 (11.7% vs. 3.3%, P=0.014). HLA-DRB1*15 was more common among the female patients with multiple sclerosis than among the male patients (68.4% vs. 34.1%; OR, 4.18; 95%, CI 1.90-9.22; P=0.001). The heterozygous inheritance of HLA-DRB1*15 allele was more common in the patients with a history of maternal multiple sclerosis than in those with a history of paternal multiple sclerosis (29.4% vs. 9.8%; P=0.045). CONCLUSIONS. HLA-DRB1*15 was found to be associated with multiple sclerosis in the Lithuanian population. This allele was more prevalent among the female patients with multiple sclerosis. Maternal multiple sclerosis was more common than paternal multiple sclerosis, but the relationship with HLA-DRB1*15 allele was not established. HLA-DRB1*01, *03, and *16 appeared to be the protective alleles in this series.