HLA–DQA Is Associated with Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms in the Belgian Population GERARD TROMP, a TORU OGATA, a LUCIE GREGOIRE, b KATRINA A.B. GODDARD, c MAGDALENA SKUNCA, a WAYNE D. LANCASTER, a,d ANTONIO R. PARRADO, c QING LU, c HIDENORI SHIBAMURA, a NATZI SAKALIHASAN, e RAYMOND LIMET, e GERALD L. MACKEAN, f CLAUDETTE ARTHUR, f TAIJIRO SUEDA, g AND HELENA KUIVANIEMI, a,h a Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA b Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA c Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA d Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA e Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Li` ege, Li` ege, Belgium f Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada g Department of Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical Science, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan h Department of Surgery, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA ABSTRACT: Chronic inflammation and autoimmunity likely contribute to the pathogenesis of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). The aim of this study was to investigate the role of autoimmunity in the etiology of AAAs using a genetic association study approach with human leuko- cyte antigen (HLA) polymorphisms (HLA–DQA1, –DQB1, –DRB1 and –DRB3–5 alleles) in 387 AAA cases and 426 controls. We observed an as- sociation with the HLA–DQA1 locus among Belgian males, and found a significant difference in the HLA–DQA1 ∗ 0102 allele frequencies between AAA cases and controls. In conclusion, this study showed potential evi- dence that the HLA–DQA1 locus harbors a genetic risk factor for AAAs suggesting that autoimmunity plays a role in the pathogenesis of AAAs. Address for correspondence: Helena Kuivaniemi, M.D., Ph.D., Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3317 Gordon H. Scott Hall of Basic Medical Sciences, 540 E. Canfield Ave., Detroit, MI 48201, USA. Voice: 313-577-8733; fax: 313-577-5218. e-mail: kuivan@sanger.med.wayne.edu Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1085: 392–395 (2006). C  2006 New York Academy of Sciences. doi: 10.1196/annals.1383.045 392