HLA-DM polymorphisms in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the contribution of HLA-DMA and DMB genes, which play a crucial role in the HLA class II restricted antigen presentation pathway, in susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: The distribution of DMA and DMB alleles was examined in patients with RA and in healthy subjects by oligotyping of PCR amplified genomic DNA with sequence specific oligonucleotide probes. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the prevalence of DMA and DMB alleles in patients with RA as compared to healthy controls. In addition, no significant differences in frequencies of DMA and DMB alleles were observed in RA susceptibility epitope positive RA patients and controls. CONCLUSION: DMA and DMB genes do not appear to play a role in susceptibility to RA.