SNPs in the TNF-α gene promoter associated with Behcet's disease in Moroccan patients.

Objective: Behçet's disease (BD) is a multisystemic inflammatory disease, mainly characterized by recurrent oral and genital ulcers (GUs), skin lesions and uveitis. Several genetic factors such as the TNF-α gene have been evaluated as contributors to the pathogenesis of BD. We aimed to evaluate the association between six TNF-α SNPs and susceptibility to BD, or the major clinical manifestations, in Moroccan patients.

HLA-B*27 allele associated to Behçet's disease and to anterior uveitis in Moroccan patients.

Human leukocyte antigen HLA-B51 is the most strongly associated gene with Behçet disease (BD) in different ethnic populations. We analyze the influence of HLA-B alleles in BD predisposition in Moroccan population and its association with clinical manifestations. The HLA-B phenotype frequencies were analyzed by serologic HLA class I typing and by polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific oligonucleotide (PCR-SSO) reverse dot blot hybridization in 120 unrelated Moroccan patients: all of whom fulfilled the international study group criteria for Behçet's disease, and in 112 ethnically matched healthy controls.