Molecular identification of the HLA-DRB1-DQB1 for diagnosis and follow-up of acute leukemias

We analyzed a group of 45 Brazilian individuals, 30 with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), 15 with acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL) and 100 healthy controls to assess genetic factor risk and HLA association contribution to the disease. Patient rates were compared with age and sex-matched control groups by directly typing the HLA-DRB1/3/4/5 and -DQB1 loci by PCR analysis. We observed significantly increased allelic distribution of HLA-DRB1⁎07 in AML patients and of HLA-DRB1⁎03 in ALL patients, which suggests that individuals in both groups are susceptible to the disease. We also found significantly decreased allelic distribution of HLA-DQB1⁎04 in AML patients and of HLA-DRB1⁎04 and -DQB1⁎03 in ALL patients, which suggests protection against the disease.We further found increased HLA-DRB1⁎07 and -DQB1⁎02 haplotypes in AML patients, which suggests susceptibility to the disease and decreased HLA-DRB1⁎04 and -DQB1⁎03 haplotypes in ALL patients, which also suggests protection against the disease.Future studies with larger and/or multicentric samples will be required for better comprehension of the HLA role in acute leukemia pathogenesis.