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Quantitative Measurement of HLA-B27 mRNA in Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis — Correlation with Clinical Activity
SU-QIN LIU, HUI-CHUN YU, YONG-ZHANG GONG, and NING-SHENG LAI ABSTRACT. Objective. To determine quantitative expression of HLA-B27 in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and the relationship to clinical disease activity. Methods. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed using specific primers to amplify the post-splicing mRNA of HLA-B27 gene in patients with AS (N = 15), B27+ healthy controls (N = 20), and B27+ unaffected family members (N = 30). Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) scores and expression of B27 mRNA were determined simultaneously. Serial measurements of B27 mRNA in one AS patient within a 9-month period were analyzed to determine the relationship between BASDAI scores and clinical therapy. For further validation of the significance of increased HLA-B27 mRNA expression in AS patients, extended experiments were conducted in another 10 patients with definite AS possessing HLA-B27/B60 (B*40012). Quantitative expression of HLA-B27 and B60 mRNA were determined simultaneously by RT-PCR. Results. Expressions of HLA-B27 mRNA in HLA-B27+ AS patients were significantly higher compared to unaffected B27+ family members and B27+ controls. mRNA for HLA-B27 was observed to be present in higher amounts than for other HLA class I alleles. It was also noted that the BASDAI data were correlated with HLA-B27 mRNA estimated as 2ΔΔCT in patients with definite AS. From a longitudinal case analysis, data on quantitative measurement of HLA-B27 mRNA was shown to be valuable for patient's management. Conclusion. The expression of mRNA of HLA-B27 determined with quantitative RT-PCR correlated with clinical disease activity in patients with AS. (J Rheumatol 2006;33:1128–32) Key Indexing Terms:
ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS
From the Section of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, DaLin Tzu Chi Buddhist Hospital; and College of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Taiwan. Supported by grant DTCRD 91-13, DaLin Tzu Chi Buddhist Hospital. S-Q. Liu, MS; H-C. Yu, MS; Y-Z. Gong, BS, Section of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, DaLin Tzu Chi Buddhist Hospital; N-S. Lai, MD, PhD, Section of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, DaLin Tzu Chi Buddhist Hospital, Associate Professor, College of Medicine, Tzu Chi University. Address reprint requests to Dr. N-S. Lai, Dalin Tzu Chi Buddhist Hospital, No. 2, Ming-Shen Road, Dalin Town, City of ChiaYi, Taiwan. E-mail: nslai@airpa.org.tw Accepted for publication January 16, 2006.
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