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Volume 6 Supplement 1

24th European Workshop for Rheumatology Research

HLA-DRB1 encoded predisposition to rheumatoid arthritis: the anchor hypothesis

Arthritis Res Ther volume 6, Article number: 35 (2004) Cite this article

Objective and Methods

Antigenic peptides anchor by amino acid residues to pockets within the antigen-binding groove of the HLA-DRB1 molecule. In order to assess whether a pocket-wise analysis of HLA-encoded susceptibility might provide a better fit to the immunogenetic data in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) than the shared epitope hypothesis, HLA-DRB1 typing findings in 167 patients with recent onset RA and in 166 controls were analyzed.

Results

The shared epitope (residues 67–74) borders pockets 4 and 7. After stratification for pocket 4, polymorphisms in pocket 7 did not influence RA risk. However, after stratification for pocket 7, both substitutions in the α helix bordering pocket 4 and substitutions at position 13 in the floor of this pocket independently and significantly influenced RA risk. Furthermore, substitutions at position 86 in pocket 1 also had an effect on RA risk. Pairs of HLA-DRB1 alleles that only differ in the glycine/valine dimorphism showed a consistent tendency toward increased risk for the glycine variant in a pooled analysis (pooled OR 1.66; p1 = 0.08). This observation is also strongly supported by data from previous publications.

Conclusion

Structural data indicate that HLA disease association may be determined by the make-up of individual pockets within the antigen-binding groove of the HLA molecule. In RA, susceptibility is influenced by genetic polymorphisms in pocket 4 of the HLA-DRB1 molecule, both in the floor of this pocket and in the α helix bordering this pocket. In addition, genetic variation in pocket 1 modifies RA risk.

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Affiliations

  1. Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology F4-218, AMC/University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    N de Vries & PP Tak

  2. Blood Transfusion and Transplantation Immunology, UMC, St Radbond, The Netherlands

    H Tijssen

  3. Rheumatology, UMC, St Radboud, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    PLCM van Riel & LBA van de Putte

Authors
  1. N de Vries
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  2. H Tijssen
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  3. PLCM van Riel
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  4. LBA van de Putte
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  5. PP Tak
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de Vries, N., Tijssen, H., van Riel, P. et al. HLA-DRB1 encoded predisposition to rheumatoid arthritis: the anchor hypothesis. Arthritis Res Ther 6, 35 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1186/ar1077

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Keywords

  • Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Antigenic Peptide
  • Shared Epitope
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis Risk
  • Consistent Tendency

Arthritis Research & Therapy

ISSN: 1478-6362

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