Association of HLA DRB1 Alleles with Asthma in Pakistani Population of Punjab Region

Asthma is a heterogenous disease with different endotypes. Among the various causative agents of asthma, allergens and genetic susceptibility play a key role. HLA is a complex region, and most of the GWAS studies on asthma are limited to simple gene markers. This study aimed to determine the association of HLA DRB1 alleles with atopic asthma in the Pakistani population. Blood samples of 568 subjects were collected from Punjab, Pakistan. HLA typing was performed by using sequence-specific primers (SSP). Total immunoglobulin E (IgE) was estimated by ELISA. Graph pad Prism 8 was used for statistical analysis. HLA DRB1* 0701-02 and HLA DRB1* 1301-04 showed a positive association with atopic asthma having an odd's ratio (OR) of 2.173 and 3.564 respectively. While HLA DRB1* 1101-04 and HLA DRB1* 1201-02 showed a negative association having OR of 0.4853 and 0.4299 respectively. HLA DRB1* 0701-02 had a positive association with family history (p = <0.0001*, OR= 3.641, 95% CI= 1.852-7.257) and female gender (p= 0.0003). Total IgE level was high in asthma patients (Mean = 508.7 IU/ml). In conclusion, this study suggested the association of atopic asthma with HLA DRB1 alleles in the Pakistani population of the Punjab region. Our study reveals that two HLA DRB1 alleles have a positive, and two alleles have a negative association with atopic asthma in the Pakistani population. This finding emphasized that further large-scale studies are needed in the Pakistani population to determine the association of atopic asthma with genetic susceptibility.