Aim. To perform comparative analysis of DQB1 and DQA1 class II genes of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system in the population of Azerbaijan.
Methods. We studied the alleles of HLA DQ gene and subtypes of HLA DRB1*04 in 160 children with diabetes mellitus and in 271 healthy children from the population of Azerbaijan. Out of 160 patients, 50.6% (n=81) were boys, 49.4% (n=79) were girls. All patients with diabetes were under the age of 18 years. As a control group, 271 students of the Medical College No. 1 were involved: 79 (29.1%) boys, 192 (70.9%) girls. The collected blood samples were sent for further investigation to the medical genetic laboratory where polymerase chain reaction-based genotyping of the samples was performed.
Results. For the first time, the relationship of diabetes with class II genes of the HLA system was studied. The Azerbaijani were found to have higher risk associated with HLA DQ2 molecule. The molecule HLA DQ8 also increases risk, although it is lower in comparison with HLA DQ2 molecule. What is unusual is that for this population the allele HLA DQB1*0304 was also associated with the risk of diabetes.
Conclusion. The haplotype DQB1*0302-DQA1*03/DQB1*02-DQA1*05 (DQ8/DQ2.5) associated with high risk of diabetes is found in 3% of the representatives of the population of Azerbaijan, which is estimated as the average prevalence of diabetes.
PIRCHE-II: an algorithm to predict indirectly recognizable HLA epitopes in solid organ transplantation
