The psoriasis risk allele HLA-Cw0602 shows evidence of association with chronic or recurrent streptococcal tonsillitis.

Haapasalo K, Koskinen LLE, Suvilehto J, Jousilahti P, Wolin A, Suomela S, Trembath R, Barker J, Vuopio J, Kere J, Jokiranta TS, Saavalainen P

Infect. Immun. - (-) - [2018-07-23; online 2018-07-23]

Pharyngeal tonsillitis is one of the most common upper respiratory tract infections and Group A streptococcus is the most important bacterial pathogen causing it. While most patients experience tonsillitis only rarely, a subset of patients suffer from recurrent or chronic tonsillitis or pharyngitis. The predisposing factors for recurring or chronic form of this disease are not yet fully understood but genetic predisposition has been suggested. A genetic association study using Illumina's Immunochip SNP array was performed to search for new genetic biomarkers in pharyngeal tonsillitis. Over 100,000 SNPs relevant to immune-mediated diseases were analyzed in a cohort of 95 patients subjected to tonsillectomy due to recurrent/chronic tonsillitis and 504 controls. Genetic association between the cases and controls showed strongest association with two peaks in the HLA locus (OR 3.7-4.7, p=4.9-5.7x10

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PubMed 30037793

DOI 10.1128/IAI.00304-18

Crossref 10.1128/IAI.00304-18

pii: IAI.00304-18