[HLA and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus].

The propensity of an individual to develop type I (insulin dependent) diabetes mellitus is directly related to specific HLA class II proteins, specially those from DR and DQ regions. Genetic susceptibility to insulin dependent diabetes arises from a preestablished conformation of alpha and beta chains of DQ and beta chain of DR. Since the classic demonstration by McDevitt and colleagues that DQ beta chain aspartate at position 57 was protective against the development of the disease, many populations have been surveyed to study the association between the incidence Type I diabetes and determined frequencies of DR and DQ haplotypes. The association between these markers and susceptibility to Type I diabetes is well established in caucasians at the present time. However, little information is available for Latin American populations, that share a mixture of european, african and native genes. Our group is studying genetic markers of three Latin American populations (Argentina, Perú and Chile) and their possible association to the different incidence of Type I diabetes mellitus in each country.