Next-Generation HLA Sequence Analysis Uncovers Shared Risk Alleles Between Clinically Distinct Forms of Childhood Uveitis

PURPOSE: Classical alleles of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) complex have been linked to specific entities of pediatric noninfectious uveitis, yet genetic predisposition encoded by the HLA super-locus across the patient population remains understudied. METHODS: We performed next-generation full-length sequencing of HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C, HLA-DPB1, HLA-DQB1, and HLA-DRB1 in 280 cases. Dense genotype data from 499 Dutch controls from Genome of the Netherlands were imputed using an HLA-specific reference panel (n = 5225 samples from European ancestry). Cases and controls were compared using logistic regression models adjusting for sex. RESULTS: In total, 179 common and rare alleles were detected. Considering all cases and controls, HLA-DQB1*04:02 and HLA-DRB1*08:01 were identified as the principal HLA association, which was mainly driven by 92 cases with juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated uveitis (JIA-U). The HLA-DQB1*04:02-HLA-DRB1*08:01 haplotype was also the primary association for the phenotypically similar idiopathic chronic anterior uveitis without arthritis (CAU). Also, HLA-DQB1*05:03 was an independent risk allele for CAU, but not in JIA-U. Analysis of 185 cases with other forms of uveitis revealed HLA-wide associations (P < 2.79 × 10(−4)) for HLA-DRB1*01:02, HLA-DRB1*04:03, and HLA-DQB1*05:03, which could be primarily attributed to cases with panuveitis. Finally, amino acid substitution modeling revealed that aspartic acid at position 57 that distinguishes the risk allele HLA-DQB1*05:03 (for CAU and panuveitis) from nonrisk alleles, significantly increased the binding capacity of naturally presented ligands to HLA-DQ. CONCLUSIONS: These results uncovered novel shared HLA associations among clinically distinct phenotypes of pediatric uveitis and highlight genetic predisposition affecting the antigen presentation pathway.