Important: This webinar will only have a single session, and the timing will be different from our usual schedule, so make sure you don’t miss it!
About this webinar
The highly polymorphic HLA DRB1 locus is associated with both susceptibility and resistance to rheumatoid arthritis. Genome-wide analyses have identified that a DRB1 allele encoding the VKA epitope at amino acid positions 11, 71 and 74 confers the highest risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, while an allele with the VEA epitope is highly protective. These findings suggest that the K/E dichotomy at position 71 is essential to rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility. Replacing the lysine at position 71 (K71) in the DRβ1*04:01 allele with glutamic acid (E71) completely blocked the binding of type II collagen peptide. Transgenic mice were compared with both protein variants. These studies suggest that K71 of DRβ1*04:01 confers susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis via binding of arthritogenic peptides, and that editing the position to glutamic acid can impart resistance.
Christina Roark, PhD, F(ACHI) is Associate Director of ClinImmune and is an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Christina (Tina) received her PhD in Immunology from the University of Colorado. She is a Fellow of the American College of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics. Her research interests include gene-editing the HLA as a treatment for autoimmunity.
Attend the webinar and receive 0.15 continuing education credits (CECs).
