02021nas a2200289   4500000000100000008004100001260001200042653002700054653000800081653001200089653002500101100002300126700001400149700001500163700001500178700001500193700001100208700001400219700001200233700002000245700001300265700001300278700001300291245008600304520132700390022001401717       2020                            d  c11/202010aGenetic susceptibility10aHLA10aleprosy10aMycobacterium leprae1 ade Souza-Santana F1 aQuerino G1 aCamargo RM1 ade Souza V1 aMangilli P1 aMira M1 aBezerra O1 aManta F1 aVisentainer JEL1 aMoraes M1 aMarcos E1 aLatini A00aHLA-DPB1 and HLA-C alleles are associated with leprosy in a Brazilian population.3 a<p>Despite intense efforts, the number of new cases of leprosy has remained significantly high over the past 20 years. Host genetic background is strongly linked to the pathogenesis of this disease, which is caused by Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae), and there is a consensus that the most significant genetic association with leprosy is attributed to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). Here, we investigated the association of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and II genes with leprosy in a Brazilian population encompassing 826 individuals from a hyperendemic area of Brazil; HLA typing of class I (-A, -B, -C) and class II (-DRB1, -DQA1, -DQB1, -DPA1, and -DPB1) loci was conducted. Initially, the associations were tested using the chi-square test, with p-values adjusted using the false discovery rate (FDR) method. Next, statistically significant signals of the associations were submitted to logistic regression analyses to adjust for sex and molecular ancestry data. The results showed that HLA-C*08, -DPB1*04, and -DPB1*18 were associated with protective effects, while HLA-C*12 and -DPB1*105 were associated with susceptibility to leprosy. Thus, our findings reveal new associations between leprosy and the HLA-DPB1 locus and confirm previous associations between the HLA-C locus and leprosy.</p>  a1879-1166