HLA-DRB1 alleles are associated with the clinical course of disease and steroid dependence in Mexican patients with ulcerative colitis

Aim The aim of this study was to study the association between the HLA-DRB1 alleles and the clinical course of ulcerative colitis (UC). Method Seventy-five Mexican patients with UC were studied. High resolution HLA typing was performed using Polymerase Chain Reaction-Sequence Specific Oligonucleotide PCR-SSO reverse dot blot and Polymerase Chain Reaction-single specific primer PCR-SSP. Molecular typing techniques were applied to define HLA-DRB1 alleles. Results Seventy-five patients (36 female patients, 39 male patients) were studied. Significant associations were found between some HLA-DRB1 alleles and the clinical course of disease: initial active and then inactive and the HLA-DRB1*14 allele (P = 0.03; OR = 4.63; 95% CI: 1.08-21.23); and HLA-DRB1* 08 allele (P = 0.04; OR = 4.34; 95% CI: 1.9-33.3). On the other hand, the HLA-DRB1* 07 (P = 0.001; OR = 9.76 95% CI: 1.5565.56) was significantly associated with steroid dependence in UC patients. Conclusions This study suggests that HLA-DRB1 alleles were associated with the clinical course of disease and steroid dependence in UC patients.