DNA Risk: HLA-Related Autoimmunity provides healthcare practitioners with a diagnostic insight by looking at gene variants related to common autoimmune diseases such as Coeliac disease, Hashimoto thyroiditis, Multiple sclerosis, Rheumatoid arthritis. It also offers an insight for patients already suffering from an autoimmune disorder, those who have a family history of disease and/or exposure to environmental risk factors.

Various genetic and environmental factors have been found to contribute to autoimmune disorders. One of the strongest genetic associations is linked to the MHC region and their related gene products, the human leukocyte antigens (HLAs). These HLA’s play a pivotal role in the antigen presentation of self and nonself peptides and the regulation of innate and adaptive immune responses.

The report presents the HLA alleles and genotype data in a user-friendly manner, followed by a brief description of the relevant autoimmune disorders, insights into environmental contributors, and risk (and protective) HLA alleles and MHC-related gene variants related to the disorders.

The autoimmune diseases discussed in the report include:

• Alopecia areata (AA)
• Ankylosing spondylitis (AS)
• Coeliac disease (CD)
• Graves’ disease (GD)
• Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT)
• IgA nephropathy (IgAN)
• Lyme borreliosis
• Multiple sclerosis (MS)
• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
• Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
• Vitiligo
• Idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN)