RESUMEN
INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: Celiac disease (CD) is a complex condition, whose main genetic determinant involves HLA molecules, specifically the HLA-DQ2 and/or HLA-DQ8 heterodimers. Nevertheless, the frequency of the alleles encoding those molecules has not been reported in Venezuelan celiac patients. Therefore, the aim of our study was to evaluate the frequency of the HLA-DQB1 alleles in individuals with symptoms suggestive of CD and define the diagnostic markers of the condition in a Venezuelan population. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study included 516 individuals with symptoms suggestive of CD. Molecular typing of the HLA-DQB1 locus was performed using a polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific oligonucleotide procedure (PCR-SSO). RESULTS: A total of 58.3% of the individuals with clinical manifestations consistent with CD presented with at least one risk allele (DQB1*0201 and/or DQB1*0302), and the diagnosis was confirmed in 40 of them. The patients with CD had a higher frequency of the DQB1*0201 risk allele (26.25%), followed by the DQB1*0302 (17.5%) allele. There was an association between the presence of risk alleles and the presence of lesions characteristic of CD (P = 0.001), and a correlation was found between the genetic predisposition to develop CD and the presence of anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies (P = 0.0127). CONCLUSIONS: The results support the role of the DQB1*02 and DQB1*0302 alleles in CD susceptibility and the histologic alterations of the intestinal mucosa, in a Venezuelan population.