Presence of HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 /DR4 celiac disease predisposing alleles in tested group of patients in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disease characterized by gluten intolerance. The main cause of this immune - mediated enteropathy is gluten, a protein mainly present in wheat, rye, barley and spelt. The predisposition to celiac disease is determined by HLA class II genes encoding MHC II heterodimer molecules, more specifically HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8. Up to date the exact number of people suffering from celiac disease in Bosnia and Herzegovina is still not known because there is no public registry for this disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8/DR4 presence in tested group of patients (n = 23) referred to Polyclinic Atrijum in Sarajevo in period from August 2022. to August 2023. HLA-DQ2 and DQ8/DR4 allele identification was performed using Real-time PCR technique. According to the obtained results a total of 26% (n=6) of tested patients were positive for HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8/DR4 alleles. Two of the patients were positive for HLA-DQ2 alleles and four patients were positive for HLA-DQ8/DR4 alleles. To our knowledge this is the first study evaluating the presence of HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 genotypes in tested population in Bosnia and Herzegovina.