The relationship between haplotypes of multilocus markers and ankylosing spondylitis

Objective To investigate the relationship between haplotypes of multilocus markers and ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Methods Five families with AS were recruited from Shanghai area. Eleven microsatellite markers around D6S276 were analyzed by Linkage package and by Cyrillic package. Results Fine linkage analysis showed the significant Lod score values with D6S276 was 3.8821, Lod score values with D6S1691 and D6S1618 near D6S276 were larger than 1.5. The crossover value in 5 pedigrees was 14%. The haplotype analysis showed that the regions between D6S1691 and D6S1618 were associated with AS. Conclusion The regions of D6S1691-D6S276-D6S1618 may harbor a susceptible gene of AS. The specific haplotypes of different pedigrees may play an important role in the presymptomatic diagnosis for AS.