Abstract:

Objective To investigate the possible association between HLA-B51 alleles and Behcet′s disease （BD）. Methods Totally, 61 Chinese patients of Han nationality, who were diagnosed with BD according to the International Study Group （ISG） criteria, were recruited. The control cohort consisted of 100 healthy individuals. Blood samples were obtained from all the subjects. PCR-sequence specific primers （SSPs） were used to for the genotyping of HLA-B51 alleles （HLA-B5101-HLA-B5109）. Results Compared with the control group （11 positive, 11%）, the frequency of HLA-B51 （18 positive, 29.5%） was significantly increased in BD patients （χ2 = 8.79, P < 0.01, RR = 3.39）. The HLA-B51-positive patients and controls consistently carried HLA-B5101 allele with no other alleles observed. There were 15 males and 3 females in HLA-B51 positive patients, 22 males and 21 females in HLA-B51-negative patients, and significant differences in gender distribution was observed between HLA-B51-positive and negative patients （P < 0.05）. Moreover, the average age of onset in HLA-B51-positive patients significantly differed from that in HLA-B51-negative patients （28.4 ± 10 years vs 37.3 ± 12 years, P < 0.05）. However, no significant differences were noticed in the clinical types, course, skin lesions, prevalence of genital ulcer, eye damage, joint involvement, or pathergy reaction between HLA-B51-positive and -negative patients （P > 0.05）. Conclusions This study supports that HLA-B5101 allele is associated not only with the development of BD, but also with the gender and onset age of patients with BD of Chinese Han nationality.

Key words: Behcet's disease;HLA-B51;Allele;Clinical manifestations