HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 Genotyping in a Sample of Iranian Celiac Patients and Their First-Degree Relatives

Recent studies have shown a critical role for HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 in the pathogenesis of celiac disease. No study has been performed on the prevalence of these two HLA types in Iranian celiac patients. We enrolled 24 celiac patients and 37 first-degree relatives in whom the diagnosis of celiac was excluded by serologic tests. HLA typing for HLA-DQ2 (DQB1*02), HLA-DQ8 (DQB1*03), HLA-DQ B1*05 and HLA-DQ B1*06 was performed using polymerase chain (PCR) reaction. Twenty two (91.7%) celiac patients and twenty seven (73%) controls were positive for the HLA-DQ2 and/or HLA-DQ8 heterodimers. There was no significant difference between the two groups (p=0.068). However, celiac patients were statistically more positive for homozygote HLA-DQ2, whereas non-celiac participants were more positive for homozygote HLA-DQ8 (p<0.05). other hand, the higher prevalence of homozygote HLA-DQ2 in celiac patients shows its stronger role in diseas pathogenesis. Further studies on larger populations are needed in Iran.