HLA class II alleles and multiple sclerosis in Tunisian patients

ObjectiveThe aim of our study was to investigate the association of HLA-DRB1 and -DQB1 alleles with multiple sclerosis (MS) in a Tunisian population and their effect on age at onset and disease severity.Methods58 MS patients and 105 healthy controls were genotyped for HLA class II alleles by PCR-SSP technique.ResultsAn association of MS with HLA-DRB1*15 was found (14.7% vs 3.8%, OR (95% CI) = 4.34 (1.69–11.39), pc = 2.5 × 10−3) after Bonferroni's correction. Moreover, the DRB1*15–DQB1*06 (13.8% vs 2.8%, OR (95% CI) = 5.44 (1.92–17.41), pc = 1.1 × 10−3) and DRB1*04–DQB1*04 (8.6% vs 1.9%, OR (95% CI) = 4.86 (1.36–21.62), pc = 0.028) haplotypes were found to confer a susceptibility to multiple sclerosis.ConclusionTo our knowledge, this is the first study performed to analyze the association of HLA-DRB1/DQB1 alleles on MS susceptibility in Tunisia. The modern Tunisian gene pool shows some degree of heterogeneity and reflects a significant gene flow from Mediterranean regions.