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Background

As many autoimmune disorders, myasthenia gravis (MG) is the result of genetic and environmental interactions. MHC class II polymorphism has well-known predisposing effects. It is also related to disease severity and response to treatment in many autoimmune disorders. Previous studies have shown the role of MHC class II alleles in the pathogenesis of MG. However, data on the relationship of these HLA alleles to disease severity and treatment responses are lacking.

Methods

In this retrospective cohort, patients with MG referred to the neuromuscular clinic of Shariati Hospital were enrolled. HLA DRB1, DQA1 and DQB1 typing was performed by polymerase chain reaction based on sequence-specific primers. Recommendations of the MGFA task force were used to determine disease severity and response to treatment.

Results

In 146 patients with MG, 15 different alleles of DRB1, 7 alleles of DQA1, 9 …