Correlations Among the HLA-DQB1 Alleles and Suicidal Behavior.

Suicide is a worldwide health problem with multiple causes, including genetic factors. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is represented by an assembly of gene encoding the human leukocyte antigen (HLA). The purpose of our study was to determine associations between the HLA profiles and predisposition for suicidal behavior. We harvested blood samples from persons with history of suicidal attempts (case group) and persons never exhibiting such behavior (control group). The DNA was extracted and amplified via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to determine the HLA-DQB1 profiles. Statistical data processing was performed with the Epi Info program. We found that the presence of the HLA-DQB102 allele increases the risk of suicidal behavior, while HLA-DQB105 alleviates such risk. The genotype that presented the most increased risk for suicidal behavior was found to be HLA-DQB102/HLA-DQB103. Our study has demonstrated the presence of several associations between HLA profiles and suicidal behavior.