HLA and autoantibodies define scleroderma subtypes and risk in African and European Americans and suggest a role for molecular mimicry.

ABSTRACT: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a clinically heterogeneous autoimmune disease characterized by mutually exclusive autoantibodies directed against distinct nuclear antigens. We examined HLA associations in SSc and its autoantibody subsets in a large, newly recruited African American (AA) cohort and among European Americans (EA). In the AA population, the African ancestry-predominant HLA-DRB1*08:04 and HLA-DRB1*11:02 alleles were associated with overall SSc risk, and the HLA-DRB1*08:04 allele was strongly associated with the severe antifibrillarin (AFA) antibody subset of SSc (odds ratio = 7.4). These African ancestry-predominant alleles may help explain the increased frequency and severity of SSc among the AA population. In the EA population, the

SUBMITTER: Gourh P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6955366 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature