Molecular analysis of HLA-DRB1 allelic associations with systemic lupus erythematous and lupus nephritis in Egyptians

To evaluate the association of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)–DRB1 alleles with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and lupus nephritis (LN) in the Egyptian population, and to investigate the possible association of HLA-DRB1 alleles with disease severity in LN. HLA-DRB1 alleles were studied in 67 SLE patients (57 patients with LN, 10 patients without LN) and 50 healthy controls by polymerase chain reaction and sequence-based typing assays. The frequency of DRB1*0301 and DRB1*0402 are significantly increased among Egyptian SLE patients compared with the healthy controls. HLA-DRB1*0301, HLA-DRB1*0402 and DRB1*0701 were associated with LN in SLE Egyptian patients. HLA-DRB1*0402 and DRB1*0701 were associated with RFI among SLE Egyptian patients. So we can concluded that, there is an association of an increased risk for SLE in Egyptian with DRB1*0301 and DRB1*0402. The presence of DRB1*0301, DRB1*0402 and DRB1*0701 increase the susceptibility LN in SLE patients. Moreover, DRB1*0402 and DRB1*0701 increase the risk of RFI in those patients.