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Mannose-Binding Lectin Variant Alleles and HLA-DR4 Alleles Are Associated with Giant Cell Arteritis
SOREN JACOBSEN, BO BASLUND, HANS OLE MADSEN, NIELS TVEDE, ARNE SVEJGAARD, and PETER GARRED
ABSTRACT.
Methods. MBL and HLA-DRB1 alleles were determined by polymerase chain reaction in 102 Danish patients with PMR (n = 37) or GCA (n = 65). Two hundred fifty and 193 healthy individuals served as controls for MBL and HLA genotyping, respectively. Results. The prevalence of MBL variant alleles in controls, patients with PMR only, and patients with GCA was 37, 32, and 53% (p = 0.01), respectively. HLA-DRB1*04 was found in 47% of patients with PMR only and in 54% of patients with GCA, which differed significantly from the 35% found in controls (p = 0.01). HLA-DR4 alleles were not associated with any clinical phenotypes of PMR/GCA, whereas MBL variant alleles were associated with cranial arteritis, high erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and low B-hemoglobin. Conclusion. We found MBL variant alleles and HLA-DR4 alleles to be weak susceptibility markers for GCA. In patients with PMR/GCA, MBL variant alleles were associated with signs of increased inflammatory activity and clinical signs of arteritic manifestations. This was not found for HLA-DR4 alleles. These findings indicate that HLA-DR4 and MBL are contributing to the pathophysiology of GCA at different levels in the disease process. (J Rheumatol 2002;29:2148-53) Key Indexing Terms:
GIANT CELL ARTERITIS
From the Rheumatology Research Unit, Department of Rheumatology, Hvidovre Hospital, Copenhagen University Hospital; the Department of Rheumatology and the Tissue Typing Laboratory of the Department of Clinical Immunology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Supported by the Danish Rheumatism Association, The Danish Medical Research Council, and the Novo Nordisk Research Foundation. S. Jacobsen, MD, DMSci, Rheumatology Research Unit, Hvidovre Hospital; B. Baslund, MD, PhD; N. Tvede, MD, PhD, Department of Rheumatology, Rigshospitalet; H.O. Madsen, MSci; A. Svejgaard, MD, DMSci; P. Garred, MD, DMSci, Tissue Typing Laboratory, Rigshospitalet. Address reprint requests to Dr. S. Jacobsen, Rheumatology Research Unit, Department of Rheumatology, Bispebjerg Hospital, Bispebjerg Bakke 23, DK-2400 Copenhagen NV, Denmark. E-mail: sj@dadlnet.dk Submitted December 28, 2001; revision accepted March 8, 2002. |