Association of HLA-DQB1*03:03 with pityriasis rosea in Chinese patients

Background. The association of human leucocyte antigen (HLA) with a variety of diseases has been described, especially with various autoimmune diseases. However, there are few studies on the association between HLA and pityriasis rosea (PR). Aim. To investigate the relevance of HLA II alleles with the development of PR. Methods. Typing for HLA-DRB1, HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DQB1 typing was performed in 55 patients with PR and 90 healthy controls (HCs), using sequence-based typing (SBT) and PCR with sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP), respectively. Results. We found that the frequency of HLA-DQB1*03: 03 was significantly higher in the PR compared with the HC group [P = 0.001; relative risk (RR) = 2.24; 95% CI 1.38-3.6], while suggestive evidence for a protective effect of HLA-DQB1*06: 06 was observed in the study cohort (P < 0.02; RR = 0.40; 95% CI 0.17-0.90). Conclusions. The HLA-DQB1*03: 03 allele may be a susceptible factor in patients with PR. In addition, the association of HLA-DQB1*03: 03 with PR suggests participation of immunity in the pathogenesis of PR.