Genetic predisposition to celiac disease in Kazakhstan: Potential impact on the clinical practice in Central Asia

Background Celiac disease (CD) is a systemic immune-mediated disorder developing in HLA genetically predisposed individuals carrying HLA-DQ2 and/or HLA-DQ8 molecules. Recent evidences supported a predominant importance of HLA-DQB1 locus and, in particular, HLA-DQB1*02 alleles. This diagnosis is poorly considered in Kazakhstan, because of the assumption that CD is not prevalent in this population. Objective To demonstrate that the genetic...