Effect of HLA Class I and Class II Alleles on Progression From Autoantibody Positivity to Overt Type 1 Diabetes in Children With Risk-Associated Class II Genotypes

摘要

OBJECTIVEClass II alleles define the main HLA effect on type 1 diabetes, but there is an independent effect of certain class I alleles. Class II and class I molecules are differently involved in the initiation and effector phases of the immune response, suggesting that class I alleles would be important determinants in the rate of β-cell destruction. To test this hypothesis we analyzed the role of HLA class I and class II gene polymorphisms in the progression from diabetes-associated autoimmunity to clinical disease.