Background: Hevein is one of the most important latex allergens affecting health care workers (HCWs).
Objective: Because the genetically determined susceptibility is one important factor regulating type I allergy, the association between the hevein-specific IgE immune response and HLA class II alleles of DQB1 and DRB1, DRB3, DRB4, and DRB5 was studied.
Methods: The distribution of HLA-DQB1 and DRB1, DRB3, DRB4, and DRB5 in 269 HCWs with latex allergy, 56 latex-sensitized patients with spina bifida (SB), and 90 nonatopic control subjects under special consideration for hevein-specific IgE was examined.
Results: Seventy percent (189/269) of the HCWs with latex allergy and 39% (22/56) of the latex-sensitized patients with SB had increased hevein-specific IgE antibody concentrations (>0.35 kU/L). HLA data analysis revealed significantly increased phenotype frequencies for DQB1*0302 (DQ8; 91/189 [48%]) and DRB1*04 (DR4; 102/189 [54%]) in hevein-positive HCWs with latex allergy compared with the 80 hevein-negative HCWs with latex allergy (DQB1*0302: 16/80 [20%], corrected P value [P (c)] = 7.1 x 10(-4); DRB1*04: 23/80 [29%], P (c) =.01) and with control subjects (DQB1*0302: 16/89 [18%], P (c) = 1 x 10(-4); DRB1*04: 22/90 [24%], P (c) = 3.2 x 10(-4)). The DQ8-DR4 haplotype frequency was significantly elevated in HCWs with hevein-specific IgE antibodies when compared with that in HCWs without hevein-specific IgE antibodies (47% vs 18%, P (c) = 5.3 x 10(-4)) or control subjects (47% vs 18%, P (c) = 9.6 x 10(-4)). In contrast, latex-sensitized patients with SB with hevein-specific IgE antibodies showed an increased but not significant DQB1*0302 frequency (7/22 [32%] vs 2/34 [6%], P =.02, P (c) = not significant) compared with that seen in those without hevein-specific IgE antibodies.
Conclusion: The DQB1*0302 (DQ8) alone, the DQB1*0302 (DQ8)-DRB1*04 (DR4) haplotype, or both are significantly involved in the hevein-specific IgE immune response in HCWs with latex allergy.