Correlations between HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-DRB1 allele polymorphisms and childhood susceptibility to acquired aplastic anemia.

To investigate the correlations between polymorphisms of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A, HLA-B and HLA-DRB1 alleles and childhood susceptibility to aplastic anemia (AA), 80 children with AA were investigated. Among the 80 children, 74 had severe AA (SAA). Blood samples were collected from 109 healthy children as the controls. High-resolution genotyping of HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-DRB1 alleles was conducted using polymerase chain reaction amplification with sequence-specific primers and polymerase chain reaction amplification with sequence-based typing. The expression frequencies of HLA-B*48:01 and DRB1*09:01 were significantly higher and the frequencies of HLA-B*51:01, DRB1*03:01 and DRB1*11:01 were significantly lower in the AA group compared with those in the control group. In addition, the frequencies of HLA-B*48:01 and DRB1*09:01 were significantly higher and the frequencies of HLA-B*51:01, DRB1*03:01 and DRB1*11:01 were significantly lower in the SAA group compared with those in the control group. HLA-B*48:01 and DRB1*09:01 were correlated with childhood AA, and thus they may be susceptibility genes for childhood SAA. HLA-B*51:01, DRB1*03:01 and DRB1*11:01 are expressed at low levels in children with AA.