DLA Class II Alleles and Haplotypes Are Associated with Risk for and Protection from Chronic Hepatitis in the English Springer Spaniel

Chronic hepatitis (CH) is common in dogs in the United Kingdom. An increased prevalence of the disease is seen in the English Springer spaniel (ESS), and this breed suffer from a severe form with young to middle aged female dogs being predisposed. The disease shares histological features with those of human viral hepatitis, although the specific aetiological agent has not yet been identified. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether dog leucocyte antigen (DLA) class II alleles and haplotypes are associated with susceptibility/resistance to CH in the ESS. Sequence-based genotyping of the polymorphic exon 2 from DLA-DRB1, -DQA1 and -DQB1 class II loci were performed in 66 ESSs with CH and 84 healthy controls. There was a significant difference in the distribution of the protective alleles DRB1*00501 (3.0% vs. 12.0%, odds ratio [OR] = 0.23, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.06–0.74) and DQB1*00501 (3.8% vs. 12.0%, OR = 0.29, 95% CI = 0.09–0.85) between cases and controls. The haplotype DLA-DRB1*00501/DQA1*00301/DQB1*00501 was present in 11.9% of controls and 3.0% of cases and was significantly associated with protection against disease development (OR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.08–0.80). There was a significant difference in the distribution of the risk alleles DRB1*00601 (14.4% vs. 6.5%, OR = 2.40, 95% CI = 1.10–5.63) and DQB1*00701 (14.4% vs. 6.5%, OR = 2.40, 95% CI = 1.10–5.63) between cases and controls. A risk haplotype (DLA-DRB1*00601/DQA1*005011/DQB1*00701) was present in 14.4% of cases and 6.5% of controls and conferred an elevated risk of developing CH with an OR of 3.13 (95% CI = 1.20–8.26). These results demonstrate that DLA class II is significantly associated with risk and protection from developing CH in ESSs.