Two Novel Human Leukocyte Antigen Alleles Are Associated with Decreased Risk of Onychomycosis in a Large Cohort of Danish Blood Donors

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Introduction: Antigen presentation and antimicrobial immune responses involve the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system. Onychomycosis is primarily caused by dermatophytes and affects around 5.5% of the population worldwide. Yet, only limited data exist on the associations between the HLA system and onychomycosis. Thus, the objective of the study was to investigate if there is an association between HLA alleles and onychomycosis. Methods: Participants in the Danish Blood Donor Study were defined as cases of onychomycosis and controls based on antifungal prescriptions in the national prescription registry. Associations were investigated using logistic regressions adjusted for confounders and were Bonferroni corrected for multiple tests. Results: A total of 3,665 participants were considered onychomycosis cases, and 24,144 participants were considered controls. We found two protective HLA alleles of onychomycosis: DQB1∗06:04, odds ratios (OR) 0.80 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.71-0.90), and DRB1∗13:02, OR 0.79 (95% CI: 0.71-0.89). Conclusion: The finding of two novel protective alleles of onychomycosis indicates that certain HLA alleles have certain antigen presentation properties affecting the risk of fungal infection. These findings may provide the basis for future research identifying immunologically relevant antigens of fungi causing onychomycosis, which could ultimately lead to targets of new drugs with antifungal effects.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftSkin Appendage Disorders
Vol/bind9
Udgave nummer3
Sider (fra-til)195-202
ISSN2296-9195
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2023

Bibliografisk note

Funding Information:
The Danish Blood Donor Study is funded by the Danish Council for Independent Research – Medical Sciences (grant number: 09-069412); the Danish Administrative Regions (http://www.regioner.dk); the A.P. Møller Foundation for the Advancement of Medical Science; the Danish Bio- and Genome Bank (http://www.regioner.dk/rbgben). None of the funders had any influence on study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

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