The Association Between A Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Rs11966200 In MHC Region And Clinical Features Of Generalized Vitiligo In Chinese Han Population

Background Vitiligo is an acquired pigmentary disorder characterized by loss of epidermal melanocytes. The exact etiology of vitiligo is still unclear. It may be an autoimmune disease influenced by genetic and environmental factors. A strong association at a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs11966200 within MHC region had been identified in a recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) of generalized vitiligo in Chinese Han population.Objective This study aims to investigate the relationships between SNP rs11966200 and the clinical features of generalized vitiligo including onset age, extent of disease, clinical subtypes, family history and autoimmune disease history in Chinese Han population.Method We performed case-case and case-control analyses to compare the allele frequency of SNP rs11966200 in MHC region. 6366 unrelated cases and 6582 unrelated controls were involved in this study. The genotyping data of rs11966200 was obtained from the previous GWAS study for vitiligo. The appropriate application of social science statistical software package SPSS 11.0 was used for statistical analysis of data. P values below 0.05 were considered to be a statistic difference.Results 1.The allele frequency of SNP rs11966200 showed a statistic difference between the patients with onset age≤20y and patients with onset age >20y (OR = 1.54, P = 2.01E-13). It also showed a significant difference between moderate-severe (≥5%) and mild (<5%) cases(OR = 1.17, P = 0.025). 2. The allele frequency of SNP rs11966200 showed a statistical significance between the cases and the controls.Conclusion Our data suggested that the underlying risk causal allele tagged by SNP rs11966200 might not only play important roles in the development of vitiligo, but also contribute to the diverse clinical characteristics of generalized vitiligo at least in Chinese Han population.