ABSTRACT
Background: Atopic dermatitis [AD] is a chronic inflammatory skin disease resulting from the interaction between envirommental and genetic factors. Many genes are involved in the etiopathology of AD, such as HLA genes
Objectives: Study the association between HLA-A, B, DR and DQ genes and the AD
Methods: HLA A and B genotyping were practised for 53 atopic dermatitis patients and 76 healthy controls using the microlymphotoxicity complement dependent technique, while HLA DR and DQ genetyping were practised for only 20 patients with AD and the controls by PCR-SSP method
Results: allelic frequency of HLA A32 was significantly increased in healthy individuals compared to patients affected with AD [p=0.02, RR=0.24]. HLA-B, DR and DQ showed no differences in distribution between patients and controls
Conclusion: Our study suggested that HLA-A32 could be a protective marker against atopic dermatitis for Tunisian patients, in contrast to HLA-B, DR and DQ alleles which seemed to have no importance in AD pathogenis