Abstract:

Objective To identify the association of HLA-DQA1*0302 and DQB1*0303 alleles with vitiligo in Uygur nationality in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Methods Polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers （PCR-SSP） was performed to analyze the distribution of HLA-DQA1*0302 and HLA-DQB1*0303 alleles among 300 patients with vitiligo and 300 normal human controls of Uygur nationality in Xinjiang region. Results A significant increase was observed in the frequency of HLA-DQA1*0302 and -DQB1*0303 alleles in patients with vitiligo compared with the controls （20.5% vs. 13.83%, 30.17% vs. 13.33%, both P < 0.01）. Increased frequency of HLA-DQA1*0302 and -DQB1*0303 alleles was also seen in patients with adult vitiligo （onset age > 12 years） and those with childhood vitiligo （onset age≤12 years） as compared with the normal controls （both P < 0.01）. The frequency of DQB1*0303 allele was higher in both patients with and without family history of vitiligo than in the normal controls （both P < 0.01）, while that of DQA1*0302 was higher in only patients without family history （P < 0.01）. No significant difference was observed in the frequency of HLA-DQA1*0302 or HLA-DQB1*0303 between patients with adult vitiligo and those with childhood vitiligo or between patients with and without family history （all P > 0.05）. Conclusions HLA-DQA1*0302 and DQB1*0303 alleles may be associated with vitiligo in Uygur nationality in Xinjiang region, and there seems to be genetic heterogeneity between patients with adult and childhood vitiligo and between vitiligo patients with and without family history.

Key words: PCR-SSP