Clozapine-induced agranulocytosis is associated with rare HLA-DQB1 and HLA-B alleles.

Nat Commun
Authors
Keywords
Abstract

Clozapine is a particularly effective antipsychotic medication but its use is curtailed by the risk of clozapine-induced agranulocytosis/granulocytopenia (CIAG), a severe adverse drug reaction occurring in up to 1% of treated individuals. Identifying genetic risk factors for CIAG could enable safer and more widespread use of clozapine. Here we perform the largest and most comprehensive genetic study of CIAG to date by interrogating 163 cases using genome-wide genotyping and whole-exome sequencing. We find that two loci in the major histocompatibility complex are independently associated with CIAG: a single amino acid in HLA-DQB1 (126Q) (P=4.7 × 10(-14), odds ratio (OR)=0.19, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.12-0.29) and an amino acid change in the extracellular binding pocket of HLA-B (158T) (P=6.4 × 10(-10), OR=3.3, 95% CI=2.3-4.9). These associations dovetail with the roles of these genes in immunogenetic phenotypes and adverse drug responses for other medications, and provide insight into the pathophysiology of CIAG.

Year of Publication
2014
Journal
Nat Commun
Volume
5
Pages
4757
Date Published
2014 Sep 04
ISSN
2041-1723
URL
DOI
10.1038/ncomms5757
PubMed ID
25187353
PubMed Central ID
PMC4155508
Links
Grant list
MR/L006758/1 / Medical Research Council / United Kingdom
R01 MH080403 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States
R01 MH097281 / MH / NIMH NIH HHS / United States