ABSTRACT
Systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE] is an autoimmune disease characterized by multisystem organ damage due to autoantibody production. Polymorphism in genes at the Major histocompatibility complex [MHC] region represents an important susceptibility factor for SLE, especially HLA-DRBI and HLA-DQB1. Moreover; it was noted that ethnicity has a significant role in both disease susceptibility and disease expression. This work was planned out to study HLA-DRBI alleles association with SLE susceptibility and clinical presentations in Egyptian children with juvenile onset SLE. HLA-DRBI allele typing was done using polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific oligonucleotide probe for 65 juvenile SLE patients and compared to 150 healthy controls of the same ethnic group. P values were corrected for the number of the alleles tested [Pc]. HLADRB1 asterisk 15 allele was significantly increased in SLE children Vs controls [OR=3.44; 95%CI=1.51-7,83; P=0.004 and Pc=0.048]. No HLA-DRB1 allele was found to be statistically significantly associated with renal, musculoskeletal, cutaneous, hematologic, cardiac or neuropsychiatric manifestations in children with SLE [P>0.05]. Although HLADRB1 asterisk 15 [15g] allele may be a susceptibility allele in Egyptian children with juvenile SLE; however HLA-DRB1 alleles do not contribute to SLE clinical presentations in these children