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To identify susceptibility loci for visceral leishmaniasis, we undertook genome-wide association studies in two populations: 989 cases and 1,089 controls from India and 357 cases in 308 Brazilian families (1,970 individuals). The HLA-DRB1-HLA-DQA1 locus was the only region to show strong evidence of association in both populations. Replication at this region was undertaken in a second Indian population comprising 941 cases and 990 controls, and combined analysis across the three cohorts for rs9271858 at this locus showed P(combined) = 2.76 × 10(-17) and odds ratio (OR) = 1.41, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.30-1.52. A conditional analysis provided evidence for multiple associations within the HLA-DRB1-HLA-DQA1 region, and a model in which risk differed between three groups of haplotypes better explained the signal and was significant in the Indian discovery and replication cohorts. In conclusion, the HLA-DRB1-HLA-DQA1 HLA class II region contributes to visceral leishmaniasis susceptibility in India and Brazil, suggesting shared genetic risk factors for visceral leishmaniasis that cross the epidemiological divides of geography and parasite species.

Original publication

DOI

10.1038/ng.2518

Type

Journal article

Journal

Nat Genet

Publication Date

02/2013

Volume

45

Pages

208 - 213

Keywords

Brazil, Electrophoresis, Agar Gel, Gene Frequency, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genome-Wide Association Study, Genotype, HLA-DQ alpha-Chains, HLA-DRB1 Chains, Haplotypes, Humans, India, Leishmaniasis, Visceral, Linear Models, Odds Ratio, Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide