HLA-DQA1

Gene Summary

Gene:HLA-DQA1; major histocompatibility complex, class II, DQ alpha 1
Aliases: DQA1, DQ-A1, CELIAC1, HLA-DQA
Location:6p21.32
Summary:HLA-DQA1 belongs to the HLA class II alpha chain paralogues. The class II molecule is a heterodimer consisting of an alpha (DQA) and a beta chain (DQB), both anchored in the membrane. It plays a central role in the immune system by presenting peptides derived from extracellular proteins. Class II molecules are expressed in antigen presenting cells (APC: B Lymphocytes, dendritic cells, macrophages). The alpha chain is approximately 33-35 kDa. It is encoded by 5 exons; exon 1 encodes the leader peptide, exons 2 and 3 encode the two extracellular domains, and exon 4 encodes the transmembrane domain and the cytoplasmic tail. Within the DQ molecule both the alpha chain and the beta chain contain the polymorphisms specifying the peptide binding specificities, resulting in up to four different molecules. Typing for these polymorphisms is routinely done for bone marrow transplantation. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]
Databases:OMIM, HGNC, Ensembl, GeneCard, Gene
Protein:HLA class II histocompatibility antigen, DQ alpha 1 chain
Source:NCBIAccessed: 31 August, 2019

Ontology:

What does this gene/protein do?
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Pathways:What pathways are this gene/protein implicaed in?
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Cancer Overview

Research Indicators

Publications Per Year (1994-2019)
Graph generated 01 September 2019 using data from PubMed using criteria.

Literature Analysis

Mouse over the terms for more detail; many indicate links which you can click for dedicated pages about the topic.

Tag cloud generated 31 August, 2019 using data from PubMed, MeSH and CancerIndex

Specific Cancers (7)

Data table showing topics related to specific cancers and associated disorders. Scope includes mutations and abnormal protein expression.

Note: list is not exhaustive. Number of papers are based on searches of PubMed (click on topic title for arbitrary criteria used).

Latest Publications: HLA-DQA1 (cancer-related)

Shen FF, Pan Y, Li JZ, et al.
High expression of HLA-DQA1 predicts poor outcome in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in Northern China.
Medicine (Baltimore). 2019; 98(8):e14454 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Our previous studies demonstrate that the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is associated with the progression of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). HLA-DQA1, which belongs to the MHC Class II family, may be a potential biomarker in ESCC progression. However, the association between HLA-DQA1 and ESCC in high-incidence area of northern China has not been well characterized. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship of HLA-DQA1 expression with the progression and prognosis of ESCC.
METHODS: We analyzed the expression profiles of HLA-DQA1 in esophageal cancer (EC) samples in the TCGA database and validated HLA-DQA1 expression by immunohistochemistry, western blotting, and quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction in matched EC and normal tissues, respectively. The correlation between HLA-DQA1 expression and clinicopathologic characteristics of ESCC was further analyzed.
RESULT: Immunohistochemical analysis indicated that the expression level of HLA-DQA1 in ESCC tissues was significantly higher than the matched normal tissues (P < .001). HLA-DQA1 mRNA and protein expression were significantly higher in ESCC tissues compared to the matched normal tissues. Patients with family history negative or with tumor sizes >4 cm were associated with higher HLA-DQA1 expression levels. A prognostic significance of HLA-DQA1 was also found by the Log-rank method, in which high expression of HLA-DQA1 was correlated with a shorter overall survival time. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis yielded the area under the ROC curve value of 0.693. Univariate and multivariate analyses also suggest that high expression of HLA-DQA1 is a potential indicator for poor prognosis of ESCC.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that HLA-DQA1 plays an important role in ESCC progression and may be a biomarker for ESCC diagnosis and prognosis, as well as a potential target for the treatment of patients with ESCC.

Shim H, Park B, Shin HJ, et al.
Protective association of HLA-DRB1*13:02, HLA-DRB1*04:06, and HLA-DQB1*06:04 alleles with cervical cancer in a Korean population.
Hum Immunol. 2019; 80(2):107-111 [PubMed] Related Publications
Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II alleles have been previously associated with cervical cancer. However, these associations vary widely across racial and ethnic groups. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of HLA class II alleles on cervical cancer in a Korean population. HLA-DRB1, HLA-DQB1, and HLA-DQA1 alleles were analyzed in 457 cervical cancer patients and compared to those of 926 control subjects. The odds ratio (OR) of each allele between the patients and controls was calculated using the logistic regression model. Patients, had significantly lower frequencies of HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 alleles than control subjects: HLA-DRB1*13:02:01 (4.4% vs 8.8%; OR 0.48, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.27-0.84; p = 0.001), HLA-DRB1*04:06 (2.1% vs 4.7%; OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.20-0.97; p = 0.033), and HLA-DQB1*06:04:01 (2.3% vs 5.0%; OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.22-0.94; p = 0.021). No significant association was observed for HLA-DQA1. Protective associations between HLA-DRB1*13:02, HLA-DRB1*04:06, and HLA-DQB1*06:04 alleles and cervical cancer were found in the Korean population.

Karra VK, Chowdhury SJ, Ruttala R, et al.
HLA-DQA1 & DQB1 variants associated with hepatitis B virus-related chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis & hepatocellular carcinoma.
Indian J Med Res. 2018; 147(6):573-580 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Background & objectives: Clinical outcome after hepatitis B virus (HBV) exposure varies extremely from spontaneous clearance to chronic hepatitis B and often progresses to liver cirrhosis (LC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Host genetic factor plays an important role in the regulation of immune response. This study was aimed to investigate whether HLA class II DQA1 and DQB1 gene polymorphism were associated with chronic hepatitis B infection and in the development of HBV-related LC and HCC.
Methods: DQA1 and DQB1 allele polymorphism were studied in 187 patients with HBV-related liver diseases (which included 73 chronic hepatitis B, 84 LC and 30 HCC patients) and 109 controls who had spontaneously recovered from HBV infection using polymerase chain reaction amplification with sequence-specific primers.
Results: Our data suggested that DQA1*0101/2/4 [odds ratio (OR)=2.78; P
Interpretation & conclusions: Our results revealed HLA-DQA1*0101/2/4 - DQA1*0103 - DQB1*0302/3 and DQB1*0601 as protective and DQB1*0402 as risk alleles. The study suggests that various subtypes of HLA-DQA1 and DQB1 are associated with both HBV clearance and development of chronic HBV infections.

Wang W, Ollila HM, Whittemore AS, et al.
Genetic variants in the HLA class II region associated with risk of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.
Cancer Immunol Immunother. 2018; 67(7):1123-1133 [PubMed] Related Publications
BACKGROUND: The immune system has been implicated in the pathophysiology of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) as evidenced by the substantially increased risk of cSCC in immunosuppressed individuals. Associations between cSCC risk and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the HLA region have been identified by genome-wide association studies (GWAS). The translation of the associated HLA SNPs to structural amino acids changes in HLA molecules has not been previously elucidated.
METHODS: Using data from a GWAS that included 7238 cSCC cases and 56,961 controls of non-Hispanic white ancestry, we imputed classical alleles and corresponding amino acid changes in HLA genes. Logistic regression models were used to examine associations between cSCC risk and genotyped or imputed SNPs, classical HLA alleles, and amino acid changes.
RESULTS: Among the genotyped SNPs, cSCC risk was associated with rs28535317 (OR = 1.20, p = 9.88 × 10
CONCLUSIONS: Associations with specific HLA-DR and -DQ alleles are likely to explain previously observed GWAS signals in the HLA region associated with cSCC risk.

Kanangat S, Seder CW, Pergande MR, et al.
Circulating histocompatibility antigen (HLA) gene products may help differentiate benign from malignant indeterminate pulmonary lesions.
Hum Immunol. 2018; 79(7):558-563 [PubMed] Related Publications
BACKGROUND: This study explores the potential diagnostic utility of soluble Human Leukocyte Antigen (sHLA) molecules differentially released by lung adenocarcinoma and benign lung lesions.
METHODS: Conditioned media from the NSCLC cell lines H358 and H1703 were immunoblotted for soluble isoforms of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I (ABC) and II (DRB1, DMB, and DQ) antigens. Sera from 25 patients with benign and 25 patients with malignant lesions were similarly evaluated to appraise the potential diagnostic value.
RESULTS: Higher concentrations of soluble HLA class I molecules were observed in conditioned medium for the highly-invasive H1703 cell line, relative to the more indolent H358 cells. Evaluation of these markers against a cohort of 50 cases demonstrated that patients with malignant lesions possess higher levels of HLA class I and II molecules relative to those with benign lesions (p < 0.05), with exception to the primary isoform, DQA1, which was suppressed in malignancies. An analysis of biomarker performance via ROC analysis revealed promising performance (AUC > 0.75) for DMB and the 26 kDa isoform of DQ in distinguishing lesion pathology.
CONCLUSIONS: Soluble HLA molecules may have diagnostic value for early-stage NSCLC. Validation studies are currently underway using sera from a lung cancer screening cohort.

Ishibashi M, Yamaguchi H, Hirotani Y, et al.
Contradictory intrahepatic immune responses activated in high-load hepatitis C virus livers compared with low-load livers.
Arch Virol. 2018; 163(4):855-865 [PubMed] Related Publications
We found a HLA class II histocompatibility antigen gene, DQ alpha 1 chain (HLA-DQA1), that was expressed more than 9-fold higher in high-load hepatitis C virus (HCV) livers than low-load HCV livers using transcriptomics of chronic HCV-infected livers. To further investigate this finding, we examined which cells were positive for HLA-DQA1 and what liver immune responses were different between HCV-high and -low livers. HLA-DQA1-positive cells were significantly increased in the HCV-high group, and most positive cells were identified as non-parenchymal sinusoid cells and lymphocytic infiltrates in the portal area. Parenchymal hepatocytes were negative for HLA-DQA1. HLA-DQA1-positive cells in the liver sinusoid were positive for CD68 (macrophages or Kupffer cells); those in the lymphocytic infiltrates were positive for CD20 (B cells) or CD3 (T cells). mRNA levels of antigen-presenting cell (APC) markers such as CD68 and CD11c were significantly upregulated in the HCV-high group and were correlated with HLA-DQA mRNA levels. CD8B mRNA (CD8

Qin N, Wang C, Zhu M, et al.
Fine-mapping the MHC region in Asian populations identified novel variants modifying susceptibility to lung cancer.
Lung Cancer. 2017; 112:169-175 [PubMed] Related Publications
OBJECTIVES: The polymorphic major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a vital role in the immune system and drives predisposition to multiple cancers. A number of lung cancer-related genetic variants in the MHC have been identified in recent genome-wide association studies; however, the causal variants remain unclear.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the present study, we conducted a large-scale fine-mapping study of lung cancer in the MHC region of 13,945 unrelated Asian individuals to search for potential causal variants. We used the recently constructed Pan-Asian panel as the reference and imputed eight HLA genes (HLA-A, HLC-B, HLA-C, HLA-DRB1, HLA-DQA1, HLA-DQB1, HLA-DPA1, and HLA-DPB1) using SNP2HLA software.
RESULTS: We identified one single nucleotide polymorphism, rs12333226 (OR=1.41, P=3.97×10
CONCLUSION: We identified seven novel bi-allelic variants and five polymorphic amino acid positions in HLA-DRβ1, HLA-DQα1, and HLA-A that confer a risk of lung cancer. This finding provides evidence for the substantial contributions of HLA class I and II molecules to lung cancer susceptibility.

Joshi PK, Pirastu N, Kentistou KA, et al.
Genome-wide meta-analysis associates HLA-DQA1/DRB1 and LPA and lifestyle factors with human longevity.
Nat Commun. 2017; 8(1):910 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Genomic analysis of longevity offers the potential to illuminate the biology of human aging. Here, using genome-wide association meta-analysis of 606,059 parents' survival, we discover two regions associated with longevity (HLA-DQA1/DRB1 and LPA). We also validate previous suggestions that APOE, CHRNA3/5, CDKN2A/B, SH2B3 and FOXO3A influence longevity. Next we show that giving up smoking, educational attainment, openness to new experience and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels are most positively genetically correlated with lifespan while susceptibility to coronary artery disease (CAD), cigarettes smoked per day, lung cancer, insulin resistance and body fat are most negatively correlated. We suggest that the effect of education on lifespan is principally mediated through smoking while the effect of obesity appears to act via CAD. Using instrumental variables, we suggest that an increase of one body mass index unit reduces lifespan by 7 months while 1 year of education adds 11 months to expected lifespan.Variability in human longevity is genetically influenced. Using genetic data of parental lifespan, the authors identify associations at HLA-DQA/DRB1 and LPA and find that genetic variants that increase educational attainment have a positive effect on lifespan whereas increasing BMI negatively affects lifespan.

Bahls L, Yamakawa R, Zanão K, et al.
Human Leukocyte Antigen Class I and Class II Polymorphisms and Serum Cytokine Profiles in Cervical Cancer.
Int J Mol Sci. 2017; 18(9) [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Only a small proportion of women who are exposed to infection with high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) progress to persistent infection and develop cervical cancer (CC). The immune response and genetic background of the host may affect the risk of progression from a HR-HPV infection to lesions and cancer. However, to our knowledge, no studies has been conducted to evaluate the relationship between variability of human leukocyte antigens (

Zhang C, de Smith AJ, Smirnov IV, et al.
Non-additive and epistatic effects of HLA polymorphisms contributing to risk of adult glioma.
J Neurooncol. 2017; 135(2):237-244 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Although genome-wide association studies have identified several susceptibility loci for adult glioma, little is known regarding the potential contribution of genetic variation in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region to glioma risk. HLA associations have been reported for various malignancies, with many studies investigating selected candidate HLA polymorphisms. However, no systematic analysis has been conducted in glioma patients, and no investigation into potential non-additive effects has been described. We conducted comprehensive genetic analyses of HLA variants among 1746 adult glioma patients and 2312 controls of European-ancestry from the GliomaScan Consortium. Genotype data were generated with the Illumina 660-Quad array, and we imputed HLA alleles using a reference panel of 5225 individuals in the Type 1 Diabetes Genetics Consortium who underwent high-resolution HLA typing via next-generation sequencing. Case-control comparisons were adjusted for population stratification using ancestry-informative principal components. Because alleles in different loci across the HLA region are linked, we created multigene haplotypes consisting of the genes DRB1, DQA1, and DQB1. Although none of the haplotypes were associated with glioma in additive models, inclusion of a dominance term significantly improved the model for multigene haplotype HLA-DRB1*1501-DQA1*0102-DQB1*0602 (P = 0.002). Heterozygous carriers of the haplotype had an increased risk of glioma [odds ratio (OR) 1.23; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.49], while homozygous carriers were at decreased risk compared with non-carriers (OR 0.64; 95% CI 0.40-1.01). Our results suggest that the DRB1*1501-DQA1*0102-DQB1*0602 haplotype may contribute to the risk of glioma in a non-additive manner, with the positive dominance effect partly explained by an epistatic interaction with HLA-DRB1*0401-DQA1*0301-DQB1*0301.

Zamani-Ahmadmahmudi M, Aghasharif S, Ilbeigi K
Prognostic efficacy of the human B-cell lymphoma prognostic genes in predicting disease-free survival (DFS) in the canine counterpart.
BMC Vet Res. 2017; 13(1):17 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Canine B-cell lymphoma is deemed an ideal model of human non-Hodgkin's lymphoma where the lymphomas of both species share similar clinical features and biological behaviors. However there are some differences between tumor features in both species. In the current study, we sought to evaluate the prognostic efficacy of human B-cell lymphoma prognostic gene signatures in canine B-cell lymphoma.
METHODS: The corresponding probe sets of 36 human B-cell lymphoma prognostic genes were retrieved from 2 canine B-cell lymphoma microarray datasets (GSE43664 and GSE39365) (76 samples), and prognostic probe sets were thereafter detected using the univariate and multivariate Cox proportional-hazard model and the Kaplan-Meier analysis. The two datasets were employed both as training sets and as external validation sets for each other. Results were confirmed using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis.
RESULTS: In the univariate analysis, CCND1, CCND2, PAX5, CR2, LMO2, HLA-DQA1, P53, CD38, MYC-N, MYBL1, and BIRCS5 were associated with longer disease-free survival (DFS), while CD44, PLAU, and FN1 were allied to shorter DFS. However, the multivariate Cox proportional-hazard analysis confirmed CCND1 and BIRCS5 as prognostic genes for canine B-cell lymphoma. qRT-PCR used for verification of results indicated that expression level of CCND1 was significantly higher in B-cell lymphoma patients with the long DFS than ones with the short DFS, while expression level of BIRCS5 wasn't significantly different between two groups.
CONCLUSION: Our results confirmed CCND1 as important gene that can be used as a potential predictor in this tumor type.

Singh SK, Lupo PJ, Scheurer ME, et al.
A childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia genome-wide association study identifies novel sex-specific risk variants.
Medicine (Baltimore). 2016; 95(46):e5300 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) occurs more frequently in males. Reasons behind sex differences in childhood ALL risk are unknown. In the present genome-wide association study (GWAS), we explored the genetic basis of sex differences by comparing genotype frequencies between male and female cases in a case-only study to assess effect-modification by sex.The case-only design included 236 incident cases of childhood ALL consecutively recruited at the Texas Children's Cancer Center in Houston, Texas from 2007 to 2012. All cases were non-Hispanic whites, aged 1 to 10 years, and diagnosed with confirmed B-cell precursor ALL. Genotyping was performed using the Illumina HumanCoreExome BeadChip on the Illumina Infinium platform. Besides the top 100 statistically most significant results, results were also analyzed by the top 100 highest effect size with a nominal statistical significance (P <0.05).The statistically most significant sex-specific association (P = 4 × 10) was with the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs4813720 (RASSF2), an expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) for RASSF2 in peripheral blood. rs4813720 is also a strong methylation QTL (meQTL) for a CpG site (cg22485289) within RASSF2 in pregnancy, at birth, childhood, and adolescence. cg22485289 is one of the hypomethylated CpG sites in ALL compared with pre-B cells. Two missense SNPs, rs12722042 and 12722039, in the HLA-DQA1 gene yielded the highest effect sizes (odds ratio [OR] ∼ 14; P <0.01) for sex-specific results. The HLA-DQA1 SNPs belong to DQA1*01 and confirmed the previously reported male-specific association with DQA1*01. This finding supports the proposed infection-related etiology in childhood ALL risk for males. Further analyses revealed that most SNPs (either direct effect or through linkage disequilibrium) were within active enhancers or active promoter regions and had regulatory effects on gene expression levels.Cumulative data suggested that RASSF2 rs4813720, which correlates with increased RASSF2 expression, may counteract the suppressor effect of estrogen-regulated miR-17-92 on RASSF2 resulting in protection in males. Given the amount of sex hormone-related mechanisms suggested by our findings, future studies should examine prenatal or early postnatal programming by sex hormones when hormone levels show a large variation.

Weng TY, Wang CY, Hung YH, et al.
Differential Expression Pattern of THBS1 and THBS2 in Lung Cancer: Clinical Outcome and a Systematic-Analysis of Microarray Databases.
PLoS One. 2016; 11(8):e0161007 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Thrombospondin 1 and thrombospondin 2 (THBS1 and THBS2) share similar multifunctional domains, and are known to be antiangiogenic. However, the expression pattern of THBS1 and THBS2 is different, and the specific role of THBS2 in different subtypes of lung cancer remains largely unclear. To evaluate the significance of THBS1 and THBS2 in the development of lung cancer, the present study performed a microarray-based systematic-analysis to determine the transcript levels of thrombospondins and their relation to the prognosis in lung cancer. THBS1 was in general underexpressed in lung cancer; in contrast, mRNA levels of THBS2 were markedly overexpressed in a number of datasets of non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), including lung adenocarcinoma (AC) and squamous cell carcinoma. Similar expression pattern of THBS1 and THBS2 was verified in pulmonary AC cell lines with real-time PCR analysis. The survival of lung AC patients with high THBS2 mRNA expression levels was poorer than patients with low levels of expression of THBS2. In a microarray-based analysis, genes coexpressed with THBS1 or THBS2 were determined. Pulmonary AC patients with a high expression level of sevenTSHB1-coexpressed genes (CCL5, CDH11, FYB, GZMK, LA-DQA1, PDE4DIP, and SELL) had better survival rates than those with a low expression level. Patients with a high expression of seven TSHB2-coexpressed genes (CHI3L1, COL5A2, COL11A1, FAP, MXRA5, THY1, and VCAN) had poor survival rates. Downregulation of VCAN and THBS2 with shRNA inhibited the cell proliferation in the A549 cell line. In summary, THBS1 functions as a tumor suppressor in lung adenocarcinoma. However, THBS2 may play a double-edged role in the progression of lung AC, i.e. anti-angiogenic and oncogenic function. Further study on the mechanism underlying the activity of THBS2 is warranted to have further implications for cancer diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary AC.

Pérez-Rodríguez M, Partida-Rodríguez O, Camorlinga-Ponce M, et al.
Polymorphisms in HLA-DQ genes, together with age, sex, and Helicobacter pylori infection, as potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis of gastric cancer.
Helicobacter. 2017; 22(1) [PubMed] Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Polymorphisms in inflammation-related genes are factors associated with the development of gastroduodenal diseases in Helicobacter pylori-infected individuals.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: We aimed to analyze polymorphisms in HLA-DQ, together with other host and H. pylori variables as risk factors for precancerous and cancerous gastric lesions. 1052 individuals were studied, including nonatrophic gastritis (NAG), intestinal metaplasia (IM), gastric cancer (GC) or duodenal ulcer (DU) patients, and healthy volunteers.
RESULTS: Patients with alleles DQA*01:01 (OR 0.78), *01:02 (OR 0.29), *01:03 (OR 0.31), and DQB*02:01/02 (OR 0.40) showed a reduced risk for GC. A multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that patients with homozygote genotypes DQA1*03:01 (OR 7.27) and DQA1*04:01 (OR 8.99) and DQB1*05:01:01 (OR 12.04) were at significantly increased risk for GC. Multivariate analyses also demonstrated that age (OR>10.0) and gender (OR>2.0) were variables that influenced significantly the risk for GC, while H. pylori infection (OR>2.5) increased the risk for IM.
CONCLUSIONS: We identified HLA-DQ alleles associated with IM and GC, and confirm that age, sex, and H. pylori infection are variables that also influence the risk for disease. The use of multiple markers, HLA-DQ alleles, age, sex, and H. pylori infection may be useful biomarkers for the early diagnosis of patients with IM and GC.

Chen D, Enroth S, Liu H, et al.
Pooled analysis of genome-wide association studies of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 3 (CIN3) identifies a new susceptibility locus.
Oncotarget. 2016; 7(27):42216-42224 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Recent genome-wide association studies (GWASs) in subjects of European descent have identified associations between cervical cancer risk and three independent loci as well as multiple classical human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles at 6p21.3. To search for novel loci associated with development of cervical cancer, we performed a pooled analysis of data from two GWASs by imputing over 10 million genetic variants and 424 classical HLA alleles, for 1,553 intraepithelial neoplasia 3 (CIN3), 81 cervical cancer and 4,442 controls from the Swedish population. Notable findings were validated in an independent study of 961 patients (827 with CIN3 and 123 with cervical cancer) and 1,725 controls. Our data provided increased support for previously identified loci at 6p21.3 (rs9271898, P = 1.2 × 10-24; rs2516448, 1.1 × 10-15; and rs3130196, 2.3 × 10-9, respectively) and also confirmed associations with reported classical HLA alleles including HLA-B*07:02, -B*15:01, -DRB1*13:01, -DRB1*15:01, -DQA1*01:03, -DQB1*06:03 and -DQB1*06:02. In addition, we identified and subsequently replicated an independent signal at rs73730372 at 6p21.3 (odds ratio = 0.60, 95% confidence interval = 0.54-0.67, P = 3.0 × 10-19), which was found to be an expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) of both HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DQB1. This is one of the strongest common genetic protective variants identified so far for CIN3. We also found HLA-C*07:02 to be associated with risk of CIN3. The present study provides new insights into pathogenesis of CIN3.

Urup T, Michaelsen SR, Olsen LR, et al.
Angiotensinogen and HLA class II predict bevacizumab response in recurrent glioblastoma patients.
Mol Oncol. 2016; 10(8):1160-8 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Bevacizumab combination therapy is among the most frequently used treatments in recurrent glioblastoma and patients who achieve response to bevacizumab have improved survival as well as quality of life. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to identify predictive biomarkers for bevacizumab response in recurrent glioblastoma patients.
METHODS: The study included a total of 82 recurrent glioblastoma patients treated with bevacizumab combination therapy whom were both response and biomarker evaluable. Gene expression of tumor tissue was analyzed by using a customized NanoString platform covering 800 genes. Candidate gene predictors associated with response were analyzed by multivariate logistic and Cox regression analysis.
RESULTS: Two genes were independently associated with response: Low expression of angiotensinogen (2-fold decrease in AGT; OR = 2.44; 95% CI: 1.45-4.17; P = 0.0009) and high expression of a HLA class II gene (2-fold increase in HLA-DQA1; OR = 1.22; 95% CI: 1.01-1.47; P = 0.04). These two genes were included in a model that is able predict response to bevacizumab combination therapy in clinical practice. When stratified for a validated prognostic index, the predictive model for response was significantly associated with improved overall survival.
CONCLUSION: Two genes (low angiotensinogen and high HLA-class II expression) were predictive for bevacizumab response and were included in a predictive model for response. This model can be used in clinical practice to identify patients who will benefit from bevacizumab combination therapy.

Balas A, Planelles D, García-Sánchez F, et al.
Three new HLA class II alleles: DRB1*08:70, DQA1*01:13 and DQA1*03:01:03.
Int J Immunogenet. 2016; 43(2):107-8 [PubMed] Related Publications
Three novel HLA class II alleles, DRB1*08:70, DQA1*01:13 and DQA1*03:01:03, were characterized.

Kim LH, Cheong HS, Namgoong S, et al.
Replication of genome wide association studies on hepatocellular carcinoma susceptibility loci of STAT4 and HLA-DQ in a Korean population.
Infect Genet Evol. 2015; 33:72-6 [PubMed] Related Publications
A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) for hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) identified two loci (rs7574865 in STAT4 and rs9275319 in HLA-DQ) in a Chinese population. We attempted to replicate the associations between the two SNP loci and the risk of HCC in a Korean population. The rs7574865 in STAT4 and rs9275319 in HLA-DQ were genotyped in a total of 3838 Korean subjects composed of 287 HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma patients, 671 chronic hepatitis B virus (CHB) patients, and 2880 population controls using TaqMan genotyping assay. Gene expression was measured by microarray. A logistic regression analysis revealed that rs7574865 in STAT4 and rs9275319 in HLA-DQ were associated with the risk of CHB (OR = 1.25, P = 0.0002 and OR = 1.57, P= 1.44 × 10(-10), respectively). However, these loci were no association with the risk of HBV-related HCC among CHB patients. In the gene expression analyses, although no significant differences in mRNA expression of nearby genes according to genotypes were detected, a significantly decreased mRNA expression in HCC subjects was observed in STAT4, HLA-DQA1, and HLA-DQB1. Although the genetic effects of two HCC susceptibility loci were not replicated, the two loci were found to exert susceptibility effects on the risk of CHB in a Korean population. In addition, the decreased mRNA expression of STAT4, HLA-DQA1, and HLA-DQB1 in HCC tissue might provide a clue to understanding their role in the progression to HCC.

Kumar A, Hussain S, Yadav IS, et al.
Identification of human papillomavirus-16 E6 variation in cervical cancer and their impact on T and B cell epitopes.
J Virol Methods. 2015; 218:51-8 [PubMed] Related Publications
The infection with high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) is the most important risk factor for development of cervical cancer. The intra-type variations of HPV have different biological and pathological consequences with respect to disease progression. In the present study, six major Indian variants were experimentally identified in E6 gene of HPV-16 and showed their impact on immunogenicity by in silico methods. Four different phylogenetic lineages were observed in sequences including European (E) prototype, European variant, Asian and American Asian variant classes and complete absence of African phylogenetic lineages. On the prediction of B- and T-cell epitopes, 18 and 23 potent epitopes for MHC-II alleles, 10 potent MHC-I and 15 B-cell epitopes in each reference and variant sequence were identified. Interestingly, the presence of variation H78Y and L83V result in creation of four new epitopes for the HLA-DQA1*0101/DQB1*0501. Out of 15 B-cell predicted epitopes, three most potent epitopes were identified in both reference and variant sequence. Notably the amino acid stretch from amino acid 16-60 and 76-94 are very important for the immunological properties of E6 protein because these regions contain majority of the predicted epitopes. In future, this could control the cervical cancer by targeting these amino acid stretches for the development of HPV-16 vaccine.

Chen D, Gyllensten U
Systematic investigation of contribution of genetic variation in the HLA-DP region to cervical cancer susceptibility.
Carcinogenesis. 2014; 35(8):1765-9 [PubMed] Related Publications
Compared with the other human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes, few studies have evaluated the role of HLA-DP genes in cervical cancer pathogenesis. A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) in the Swedish population has identified a susceptibility locus for cervical cancer within the HLA-DP region. To further study this locus, we imputed classic HLA alleles using single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data and analysed 449 genotyped and 3066 imputed SNPs in 1034 cervical cancer patients and 3948 controls. We confirmed that the strongest signal came from a SNP located at HLA-DPB2 [rs3117027, odds ratio (OR) = 1.29, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.16-1.43, P = 1.9 × 10(-6) for A allele] and that this effect is not driven by associations with classic HLA alleles. In silico analysis further revealed that this SNP is highly correlated with rs3129294 (D' = 1, r(2) = 0.95 in controls), which may have a putative regulatory function. We also identified an independent association at DPB1*0402, which conferred decreased risk of cervical cancer (OR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.63-0.89, P = 7.0 × 10(-4)) and is independent of previously described associations with HLA-B*0702, DRB1*1501-DQB1*0602, and DRB1*1301-DQA1*0103-DQB1*0603. No association was found with the two SNPs (rs4282438 or rs9277952) that were recently identified within the HLA-DP region in a cervical cancer GWAS in the Chinese population. Our study provides the first systematic investigation of the association of genetic variants in the HLA-DP region with cervical cancer susceptibility and provides further insight into the contribution of polymorphisms in the HLA-DP region to risk of cervical cancer.

Schaid DJ, Spraggs CF, McDonnell SK, et al.
Prospective validation of HLA-DRB1*07:01 allele carriage as a predictive risk factor for lapatinib-induced liver injury.
J Clin Oncol. 2014; 32(22):2296-303 [PubMed] Related Publications
PURPOSE: Liver injury is a serious adverse event leading to permanent discontinuation of lapatinib in affected patients. This study aimed to validate previously associated major histocompatibility complex (MHC) variants as predictors of risk of liver injury by using a large, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of lapatinib in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive, early-stage breast cancer (Tykerb Evaluation After Chemotherapy [TEACH]: Lapatinib Versus Placebo In Women With Early-Stage Breast Cancer).
PATIENTS AND METHODS: The frequency of ALT elevation cases was compared among four MHC variants in 1,194 patients randomly assigned to lapatinib. Cumulative ALT elevation time courses during treatment were also compared between carriers and noncarriers of specified MHC variants.
RESULTS: In lapatinib-treated patients, there was a significant difference in ALT case incidence between HLA carriers and noncarriers. The highly correlated alleles HLA-DRB1*07:01 and HLA-DQA1*02:01 (study frequency, 22.4%) were associated with ALT elevation (odds ratio, 14) between cases (n = 37) and controls (n = 1,071). These associations strengthened at higher ALT elevation thresholds and in Hy's Law cases. In lapatinib-treated patients, the overall risk for National Cancer Institute-Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events grade 3 ALT elevation (> 5× upper limit of normal) was 2.1%; HLA allele carriers had an increased risk of 7.7%; in noncarriers, risk was reduced to 0.5%, comparable to ALT elevation for all patients receiving placebo. The increase in ALT case incidence in the lapatinib arm showed no evidence of plateau during 1 year of lapatinib treatment.
CONCLUSION: These results validate HLA-DRB1*07:01 allele carriage as a predictor of increased risk of lapatinib-induced liver injury and implicate an immune pathology. The HLA association could support clinical management of patients experiencing hepatotoxicity during lapatinib treatment.

Shen FF, Yue WB, Zhou FY, et al.
Variations in the MHC region confer risk to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma on the subjects from high-incidence area in northern China.
PLoS One. 2014; 9(3):e90438 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
BACKGROUND: The human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is the most important region in vertebrate genome, and is crucial in innate immunity. Recent studies have demonstrated the possible role of polymorphisms in the MHC region to high risk for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Our previous genome-wide association study (GWAS) has indicated that the MHC region may confer important risk loci for ESCC, but without further fine mapping. The aim of this study is to further identify the risk loci in the MHC region for ESCC in Chinese population.
METHODS: Conditional logistic regression analysis (CLRA) was performed on 24 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the MHC region, which were obtained from the genetically matched 937 cases and 692 controls of Chinese Han population. The identified promising SNPs were further correlated with clinical and clinicopathology characteristics. Immunohistochemistry was performed to explore the protein expression pattern of the related genes in ESCC and neighboring normal tissues.
RESULTS: Of the 24 promising SNPs analyzed, we identified three independent SNPs in the MHC region associated with ESCC: rs35399661 (P = 6.07E-06, OR = 1.71, 95%CI = 1.36-2.17), rs3763338 (P = 1.62E-05, OR = 0.63, 95%CI = 0.50-0.78) and rs2844695 (P = 7.60E-05, OR = 0.74, 95%CI = 0.64-0.86). These three SNPs were located at the genes of HLA-DQA1, TRIM27, and DPCR1, respectively. Further analyses showed that rs2844695 was preferentially associated with younger ESCC cases (P = 0.009). The positive immunostaining rates both for HLA-DQA1 and TRIM27 were much higher in ESCC tissues than in neighboring normal tissues (69.4% vs. 26.8% for HLA-DQA1 and 77.6% vs. 47.8% for TRIM27, P<0.001). Furthermore, the overexpression of HLA-DQA1 is correlated significantly with age (P = 0.001) and family history (P<0.001).
CONCLUSION: This study for the first time provides evidence that multiple genetic factors within the MHC region confer risk to ESCC on the subjects from high-risk area in northern China.

Zhang X, Zhang L, Tian C, et al.
Genetic variants and risk of cervical cancer: epidemiological evidence, meta-analysis and research review.
BJOG. 2014; 121(6):664-74 [PubMed] Related Publications
BACKGROUND: More than 200 articles have been published in the past 20 years on associations between genetic variants and risk of cervical cancer but the results have generally been inconsistent.
OBJECTIVE: To provide a synopsis of the current understanding of the genetic architecture of the risk of cervical cancer by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis.
SEARCH STRATEGY: We conducted a systematic literature search by a two-stage strategy using PubMed and other databases on or before 31 March 2012.
SELECTION CRITERIA: Cross-sectional, case-control or cohort studies about the relationship between genetic variants and cervical cancer were included.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Study outcomes were presented as odds ratios (ORs) with a 95% confidence interval.We did the meta-analysis for genetic variants which had at least three data sources and for which the significant associations were assessed using the Venice criteria.
MAIN RESULTS: A total of 5605 publications were screened, of which 286 were eligible. Meta-analysis was conducted for 58 variants in 25 genes or loci. Fourteen variants in 11 genes or loci could increase the risk of cervical cancer and five variants in three genes or loci could decrease the risk. The epidemiological evidence of the association was graded as strong for four variants in CTLA4 and HLA DQB1, moderate for five variants in IL-1B, IL-10, XRCC3 and HLA DQA1, and weak for 10 variants.
CONCLUSIONS: Many genetic variants were associated with the risk of cervical cancer as supported by the epidemiological evidence in this meta-analysis.

Brazzelli V, Rivetti N, Badulli C, et al.
Immunogenetic factors in mycosis fungoides: can the HLA system influence the susceptibility and prognosis of the disease? Long-term follow-up study of 46 patients.
J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2014; 28(12):1732-7 [PubMed] Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Mycosis fungoides (MF) is the most common and one of the least aggressive forms of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Several studies have demonstrated the influence of human leucocyte antigen (HLA) genes on the susceptibility of MF, highlighting the importance of certain alleles but, until today, no studies have evaluated the relationship between HLA alleles and the prognosis of patients with MF.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to evaluate the polymorphism of HLA class I and class II alleles in a group of 46 MF Caucasian patients, looking for their influence in susceptibility and prognosis of the disease.
METHODS: Study population included a case-cohort sample of 46 Caucasian patients with MF that, between 1993 and 1997, underwent HLA class I and II genomic typing. All patients were diagnosed and followed up from 1977 to 2012 (mean follow-up of 11 years) and they were divided into three groups according to the evolution of the disease.
RESULTS: Molecular typing at low-resolution level revealed that HLA-A*24, A*68, A*69, B*35 and DQB1*05:02 alleles were involved in susceptibility to MF. Correspondence analysis underlined that long-lasting remission was characterized by HLA-A*24 and HLA-A*25 alleles, frequent relapse by HLA-DRB1*01, DQA1*01:01, DQB1*05:01 alleles and death by HLA-A*68, HLA-B*08, HLA-B*35, HLA-C*03 alleles.
CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the prognosis of MF patients is not only correlated with clinical/pathological/serological/immunological variables but it also relies on specific HLA alleles.

Chen D, Gyllensten U
A cis-eQTL of HLA-DRB1 and a frameshift mutation of MICA contribute to the pattern of association of HLA alleles with cervical cancer.
Cancer Med. 2014; 3(2):445-52 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
The association of classic human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles with risk of cervical cancer has been extensively studied, and a protective effect has consistently been found for DRB1*1301, DQA1*0103, and/or DQB1*0603 (these three alleles are in perfect linkage disequilibrium [LD] and often occur on the same haplotype in Europeans), while reports have differed widely with respect to the effect of HLA-B*07, DRB1*1501, and/or DQB1*0602 (the last two alleles are also in perfect LD in Europeans). It is not clear whether the reported HLA alleles are responsible for the differences in cervical cancer susceptibility, or if functional variants at other locations within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region may explain the effect. In order to assess the relative contribution of both classic HLA alleles and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the MHC region to cervical cancer susceptibility, we have imputed classic HLA alleles in 1034 cervical cancer patients and 3948 controls in a Swedish population for an integrated analysis. We found that the protective haplotype DRB1*1301-DQA1*0103-DQB1*0603 has a direct effect on cervical cancer and always occurs together with the C allele of a HLA-DRB1 cis-eQTL (rs9272143), which increases the expression of HLA-DRB1. The haplotype rs9272143C-DRB1*1301-DQA1*0103-DQB1*0603 conferred the strongest protection against cervical cancer (odds ratio [OR] = 0.41, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.32-0.52, P = 6.2 × 10(-13)). On the other hand, the associations with HLA-B*0702 and DRB1*1501-DQB1*0602 are attributable to the joint effects of both the HLA-DRB1 cis-eQTL (rs9272143) and a frameshift mutation (G inserion of rs67841474, also known as A5.1) of the MHC class I polypeptide-related sequence A gene (MICA). Variation in LD between the classic HLA loci, rs9272143 and rs67841474 between populations may explain the different associations of HLA-B*07 and DRB1*1501-DQB1*0602 with cervical cancer between studies. The mechanism suggested may also explain similar inconsistent results for other HLA-associated diseases.

Sillé FC, Conde L, Zhang J, et al.
Follicular lymphoma-protective HLA class II variants correlate with increased HLA-DQB1 protein expression.
Genes Immun. 2014; 15(2):133-6 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Multiple follicular lymphoma (FL) susceptibility single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and II regions have been identified, including rs6457327, rs3117222, rs2647012, rs10484561, rs9268853 and rs2621416. Here we validated previous expression quantitative trait loci results with real-time reverse transcription quantitative PCR and investigated protein expression in B-lymphoblastoid cell lines and primary dendritic cells using flow cytometry, cell-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and western blotting. We confirmed that FL-protective rs2647012-linked variants, in high linkage disequilibrium with the extended haplotype DRB1*15:01-DQA1*01:02-DQB1*06:02, correlate with increased HLA-DQB1 expression. This association remained significant at the protein level and was reproducible across different cell types. We also found that differences in HLA-DQB1 expression were not related to changes in activation markers or class II, major histocompatibility complex, transactivator expression, suggesting the role of an alternative regulatory mechanism. However, functional analysis using RegulomeDB did not reveal any relevant regulatory candidates. Future studies should focus on the clinical relevance of increased HLA-DQB1 protein expression facilitating tumor cell removal through increased immune surveillance.

Chen D, Juko-Pecirep I, Hammer J, et al.
Genome-wide association study of susceptibility loci for cervical cancer.
J Natl Cancer Inst. 2013; 105(9):624-33 [PubMed] Related Publications
BACKGROUND: Cervical carcinoma has a heritable genetic component, but the genetic basis of cervical cancer is still not well understood.
METHODS: We performed a genome-wide association study of 731 422 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 1075 cervical cancer case subjects and 4014 control subjects and replicated it in 1140 case subjects and 1058 control subjects. The association between top SNPs and cervical cancer was estimated by odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) with unconditional logistic regression. All statistical tests were two-sided.
RESULTS: Three independent loci in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region at 6p21.3 were associated with cervical cancer: the first is adjacent to the MHC class I polypeptide-related sequence A gene (MICA) (rs2516448; OR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.31 to 1.54; P = 1.6×10(-18)); the second is between HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQA1 (rs9272143; OR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.62 to 0.72; P = 9.3×10(-24)); and the third is at HLA-DPB2 (rs3117027; OR=1.25, 95% CI = 1.15 to 1.35; P = 4.9×10(-8)). We also confirmed previously reported associations of B*0702 and DRB1*1501-DQB1*0602 with susceptibility to and DRB1*1301-DQA1*0103-DQB1*0603 with protection against cervical cancer. The three new loci are statistically independent of these specific human leukocyte antigen alleles/haplotypes. MICA encodes a membrane-bound protein that acts as a ligand for NKG2D to activate antitumor effects. The risk allele of rs2516448 is in perfect linkage disequilibrium with a frameshift mutation (A5.1) of MICA, which results in a truncated protein. Functional analysis shows that women carrying this mutation have lower levels of membrane-bound MICA.
CONCLUSIONS: Three novel loci in the MHC may affect susceptibility to cervical cancer in situ, including the MICA-A5.1 allele that may cause impaired immune activation and increased risk of tumor development.

Miyasaka T, Takeshima SN, Jimba M, et al.
Identification of bovine leukocyte antigen class II haplotypes associated with variations in bovine leukemia virus proviral load in Japanese Black cattle.
Tissue Antigens. 2013; 81(2):72-82 [PubMed] Related Publications
Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is the etiological agent of enzootic bovine leukosis, which is the most common neoplastic disease of cattle. Bovine leukocyte antigen (BoLA) is strongly involved in the subclinical progression of BLV infections. Recent studies show that the BoLA-DRB3 gene might play a direct role in controlling the number of BLV-infected peripheral B lymphocytes in vivo in Holstein cattle. However, the specific BoLA class II allele and DRB3-DQA1 haplotypes determining the BLV proviral load in Japanese Black cattle are yet to be identified. In this study, we focused on the association of BLV proviral load and polymorphism of BoLA class II in Japanese Black cattle. We genotyped 186 BLV-infected, clinically normal cattle for BoLA-DRB3 and BoLA-DQA1 using a polymerase chain reaction-sequence-based typing method. BoLA-DRB3*0902 and BoLA-DRB3*1101 were associated with a low proviral load (LPVL), and BoLA-DRB3*1601 was associated with a high proviral load (HPVL). Furthermore, BoLA-DQA1*0204 and BoLA-DQA1*10012 were related to LPVL and HPVL, respectively. Furthermore, we confirmed the correlation between the DRB3-DQA1 haplotype and BLV proviral load. Two haplotypes, namely 0902B or C (DRB3*0902-DQA1*0204) and 1101A (DRB3*1101-DQA1*10011), were associated with a low BLV proviral load, whereas one haplotype 1601B (DRB3*1601-DQA1*10012) was associated with a high BLV proviral load. We conclude that resistance is a dominant trait and susceptibility is a recessive trait. Additionally, resistant alleles were common between Japanese Black and Holstein cattle, and susceptible alleles differed. This is the first report to identify an association between the DRB3-DQA1 haplotype and variations in BLV proviral load.

Li S, Qian J, Yang Y, et al.
GWAS identifies novel susceptibility loci on 6p21.32 and 21q21.3 for hepatocellular carcinoma in chronic hepatitis B virus carriers.
PLoS Genet. 2012; 8(7):e1002791 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have recently identified KIF1B as susceptibility locus for hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). To further identify novel susceptibility loci associated with HBV-related HCC and replicate the previously reported association, we performed a large three-stage GWAS in the Han Chinese population. 523,663 autosomal SNPs in 1,538 HBV-positive HCC patients and 1,465 chronic HBV carriers were genotyped for the discovery stage. Top candidate SNPs were genotyped in the initial validation samples of 2,112 HBV-positive HCC cases and 2,208 HBV carriers and then in the second validation samples of 1,021 cases and 1,491 HBV carriers. We discovered two novel associations at rs9272105 (HLA-DQA1/DRB1) on 6p21.32 (OR = 1.30, P = 1.13×10⁻¹⁹) and rs455804 (GRIK1) on 21q21.3 (OR = 0.84, P = 1.86×10⁻⁸), which were further replicated in the fourth independent sample of 1,298 cases and 1,026 controls (rs9272105: OR = 1.25, P = 1.71×10⁻⁴; rs455804: OR = 0.84, P = 6.92×10⁻³). We also revealed the associations of HLA-DRB1*0405 and 0901*0602, which could partially account for the association at rs9272105. The association at rs455804 implicates GRIK1 as a novel susceptibility gene for HBV-related HCC, suggesting the involvement of glutamate signaling in the development of HBV-related HCC.

Skibola CF, Akers NK, Conde L, et al.
Multi-locus HLA class I and II allele and haplotype associations with follicular lymphoma.
Tissue Antigens. 2012; 79(4):279-86 [PubMed] Free Access to Full Article Related Publications
Follicular lymphoma (FL) is an indolent, sometimes, fatal disease characterized by recurrence at progressively shorter intervals and is frequently refractive to therapy. Genome-wide association studies have identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region on chromosome 6p21.32-33 that are statistically significantly associated with FL risk. Low to medium resolution typing of single or multiple HLA genes has provided an incomplete picture of the total genetic risk imparted by this highly variable region. To gain further insight into the role of HLA alleles in lymphomagenesis and to investigate the independence of validated SNPs and HLA alleles with FL risk, high-resolution HLA typing was conducted using next-generation sequencing in 222 non-Hispanic White FL cases and 220 matched controls from a larger San Francisco Bay Area population-based case-control study of lymphoma. A novel protective association was found between the DPB1*03:01 allele and FL risk [odds ratio (OR) = 0.39, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.21-0.68]. Extended haplotypes DRB1*01:01-DQA1*01:01-DQB1*05:01 (OR = 2.01, 95% CI = 1.22-3.38) and DRB1*15-DQA1*01-DQB1*06 (OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.36-0.82) also influenced FL risk. Moreover, DRB1*15-DQA1*01-DQB1*06 was highly correlated with an established FL risk locus, rs2647012. These results provide further insight into the critical roles of HLA alleles and SNPs in FL pathogenesis that involve multi-locus effects across the HLA region.

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