The immunogenetics of multiple sclerosis. The frequency of HLA-alleles class 1 and 2 is lower in Southern Brazil than in the European population.

OBJECTIVE: To study the HLA of class 1and 2 in a multiple sclerosis (MS) population to verify the susceptibility for the disease in the Southern Brazil.

METHODS: We analyzed patients with MS and controls, by direct sequencing of the genes related to HLA DRB1, DQB1, DPB1, A, B and C alleles with high resolution techniques.

RESULTS: We found a lower frequency of all HLA alleles class 1 and 2 in MS and controls comparing to the European population. Several alleles had statistical correlation, but after Bonferroni correction, the only allele with significance was the HLA-DQB1*02:03, which has a positive association with MS.

CONCLUSIONS: Our data have different frequency of HLA-alleles than the previous published papers in the Southeast Brazil and European population, possible due to several ethnic backgrounds.