The relationship of chronic idiopathic urticaria with HLA class I and class II antigens

Objective- hypotesis: Urticaria is a cutaneous vascular reaction consisting of erythematous, edematous, itchy papules and plaques of different sizes, which mast cells play a role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Urticaria divided into two as acute and chronic; etiology of 80 % of patients in the chronic idiopathic urticaria form can not be detected. Chronic idiopathic urticaria, which is thought to have autoimmune origin, has been shown to be associated with some HLA alleles. In our study, it was aimed to determine whether there are HLA antigens that may be related to the disease in patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria. Methods: 40 chronic idiopathic urticaria patients and 40 healthy volunteers aged 18 years and older who applied to Adnan Menderes University Immunology and Allergy Outpatient Clinic were included in our study. HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C, HLA-DQB, HLA-DRB antigens and some alleles were studied. Results were recorded by SPSS 18 and statistical analyzes were performed. Results: 12 patients of chronic idiopathic urticaria group were male and 28 were female; 16 healthy volunteers were male and 24 were female (p> 0,05). The mean age of the patient group was 36,80 ± 9,48; the mean age of healthy volunteers was 28,28 ± 6,95 (p <0,001). The mean age at onset of patients was 32,2 ± 10,2; mean disease duration was 4,26 ± 5,18 years. It was found that HLA-A, 6 (15 %) in the patient group; 14 (35 %) in the control group (p = 0,039 OR= 0,332 95 % CI: 0,11-0,969). HLA-A was considered statistically significant in the control group. It was found that HLA-DRB1, 13 (32,5 %) in the patient group; 7 (17,5 %) in the control group but was not significant. Conclusion: The results of our study suggest that HLA-A antigen may be a protective allele in patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria while HLA-DRB1 may be a predisposing allel of disease. Key words: Urticaria, Chronic idiopathic urticaria, HLA antigens