Abstract

MRUBATA, K L et al. The prevalence of coeliac disease-associated human leukocyte antigens in South African transplant donors and recipients. SAMJ, S. Afr. med. j. [online]. 2021, vol.111, n.10, pp.991-994. ISSN 2078-5135.  http://dx.doi.org/10.7196/samj.2021.v111i10.15680.

BACKGROUND: Coeliac disease (CD) is an autoimmune condition occurring in genetically predisposed individuals exposed to an environmental trigger. The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) haplotypes HLA-DQ2.5 and HLA-DQ8 have the strongest association with CD, and 90 - 95% of CD patients bear these haplotypes. The susceptibility of the South African (SA) population to CD has not been studied previouslyOBJECTIVES: To describe the genetic propensity of the SA population to CDMETHODS: The South African National Blood Service database was used to analyse the prevalence of HLA-DQ2.5 and HLA-DQ8 in potential donors and recipients of organ transplants. Self-reported ethnic group was used to estimate the prevalence among different population groupsRESULTS: The overall prevalence of HLA-DQ2.5 and HLA-DQ8 was 19.8%. The prevalence was lower in black participants (15.9%) than in whites (28.6%). Coloured (22.0%) and Indian (17.4%) participants had an intermediate prevalence. There was no significant difference between potential transplant donors and recipientsCONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of HLA-DQ2.5 and HLA-DQ8 differed among SA study participants of different ethnicities. However, the notion that CD does not occur in black South Africans owing to lack of a genetic predisposition is incorrect

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