Susceptibility to Type 1 Diabetes in the Senegalese Population Is Linked to HLA-DQ and Not TAP and LMP Genes

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the frequency of the transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) and large multifunctional protease (LMP) alleles and their role in the susceptibility to type 1 diabetes, in comparison with the well-known HLA-DQ alleles susceptibility, in Senegalese subjects. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Three loci in the TAP/LMP region were analyzed in 92 type 1 diabetic subjects and 117 nondiabetic control subjects by means of polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). RESULTS: No association was found between the studied polymorphisms of TAP1, TAP2, and LMP2 and type 1 diabetes in the Senegalese population, in contrast to the HLA-DQA1 and DQB1 genes, which were associated with type 1 diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: Diabetogenic genes in the class II HLA region are located near the DQA1 and DQB1 loci rather than the TAP and LMP loci.