Human Leukocyte Antigens-DQA1 and -DQB1 Alleles in Patients With Common Warts

Introduction The human papillomavirus induces the formation of lesions in different epithelia. Several studies describe an association of class II human leukocyte antigen with genital lesions, implying that they could also be related to the presence of common warts. The goal of this work was to determine the frequency of human leukocyte antigens (HLA)-DQA1 and HLA-DQB1 in Mexicans with common warts. Methods Thirty-two patients with a diagnosis of common warts, without any other systemic disease, and 100 healthy subjects from the same geographic area were recruited. The second exon of the HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DQB1 loci was typed by dot-blot and chemiluminescence. Results Alleles DQA1*03:01:01 (P = 0.021) and DQB1 *03:02 (P = 0.036) were associated with the presence of skin warts. DQA1*04:01-DQB1*04:02 (P= 0.009) and DQA1*03:01:01-DQB1*03:02 (P = 0.044) were the most frequent haplotypes in patients. Conclusion In conclusion, the results of our study showed that the alleles DQA1*03:01:01, DQB1*03:02, DQA1*04:01, and DQB1*04:02 were associated with susceptibility to common warts, while DQA1*05:01 was significantly diminished in them. Consequently, the haplotypes DQA1*04:01-DQB1*04: 02 and DQA1*03:01:01-DQB1*03:02 were found to be associated with susceptibility, and DQA1*05:01-DQB1*03:01 increased significantly in controls. Therefore, the alleles of the DQA1 and DQB1 genes that are associated with susceptibility could be presenting human papillomavirus (HPV) peptides to T lymphocytes that activate a Th2-type response (anti-inflammatory cytokines), which allows the development of skin warts in this population.