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Association analysis of the HLA-C gene in Japanese alopecia areata

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Abstract

Alopecia areata (AA) is an organ-specific and cell-mediated autoimmune disease involving hair loss, but its pathogenesis remains poorly understood. Many autoimmune diseases are genetically associated with alleles of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes within the major histocompatibility complex. Associations between AA and HLA genes were previously observed in some different ethnic groups. However, the results were inconsistent, and a primary susceptibility HLA gene and/or region has not yet been assigned for AA. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether an allele of the HLA-C locus, HLA-C*07:04, which was strongly associated with AA in Chinese Hans, could be replicated in the Japanese population. The HLA-C locus was genotyped by the SSO method using 156 AA patients and 560 healthy controls. As a consequence, among the 17 alleles detected, only two alleles, C*04:01 (OR = 2.25, CI 95 % = 1.35–3.75, P = 1.84E-03) and C*15:02 (OR = 2.52, CI 95 % = 1.37–4.64, P = 2.90E-03), were significantly associated with AA after Bonferroni correction. Further, the stratification analysis suggested that C*04:01, C*07:02, and C*15:02 represented different AA genetic risk factors in each sub-phenotype.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank M. Tanaka, H. Hayashi, K. Fukushima, and E. Matsushita for informative and experimental supports. This work was supported by the Institute of Medical Science, Tokai University School of Medicine.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Life Science, Division of Basic Medical Science and Molecular Medicine, Tokai University School of Medicine, 143 Shimokasuya, Isehara, Kanagawa, 259-1193, Japan

    Yuko Haida & Hidetoshi Inoko

  2. Department of Dermatology and Allergology and Atopy (Allergy) Research, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan

    Shigaku Ikeda

  3. Department of Dermatology and Allergology, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan

    Atsushi Takagi & Etsuko Komiyama

  4. Department of Dermatology, Tokai University School of Medicine, 143 Shimokasuya, Isehara, Kanagawa, 259-1193, Japan

    Tomotaka Mabuchi & Akira Ozawa

  5. Centre for Forensic Science, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, 6009, Western Australia, Australia

    Jerzy K. Kulski

  6. The Institute of Medical Science, Tokai University School of Medicine, 143 Shimokasuya, Isehara, Kanagawa, 259-1193, Japan

    Akira Oka

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  1. Yuko Haida
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  2. Shigaku Ikeda
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  8. Hidetoshi Inoko
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Correspondence to Akira Oka.

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Haida, Y., Ikeda, S., Takagi, A. et al. Association analysis of the HLA-C gene in Japanese alopecia areata. Immunogenetics 65, 553–557 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00251-013-0703-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00251-013-0703-z

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