Abstract
Background. Major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related gene A (MICA) is a ligand for the activating NKG2D receptor expressed on natural killer (NK) cells. We aimed to assess the association of MICA polymorphism with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) in Korean children. Methods. Eighty-one patients with AITD were recruited. We analyzed MICA polymorphisms by PCR-SSP and compared the results with those of 70 healthy controls. Results. In AITD, the allele frequencies of MICA010 (OR=2.21; 95% CI, 1.30-3.76, P<0.003, Pc<0.042) were higher than those of controls. Patients who did not have thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy showed higher frequencies of MICA010 (OR=2.99; 95% CI, 1.47-6.08, P<0.003, Pc<0.042) and lower frequencies of MICA008 (OR=0.08; 95% CI, 0.01-0.62, P<0.001, Pc<0.014) compared to those of controls. HLA-B46, which shows the strongest association with AITD compared with other HLA alleles, showed the strongest linkage disequilibrium with MICA010. Analyses of the associations between MICA010 and HLA-B46 with AITD suggest an association of the MICA allele with AITD. Conclusions. Our results suggest that innate immunity might contribute to the pathogenesis of AITD.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 235680 |
| Journal | International Journal of Endocrinology |
| Volume | 2012 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2012 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education grants NRF- 2016R1A2B4008487 and 2016R1A6A1A03010528 (S.-H.K.); and the development fund of Catholic Institute for Visual Science of 2019 grant 5-2019-B0001-00242 (J.A.C.).
