CC chemokine receptor 5 polymorphism in Italian patients with Beḩet's disease

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the potential role of CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5)Δ32 polymorphism in the susceptibility to and clinical expression of Behcet's disease (BD) in a cohort of Italian patients. METHODS: One hundred and ninety-six consecutive Italian patients satisfying the ISG criteria for BD were followed up for 8 years, and 180 healthy age- and sex-matched blood donors were molecularly genotyped for the CCR5Δ32 polymorphism. A standard microlymphocytotoxicity technique was used to serotype HLA-B51. The patients were subgrouped on the basis of the presence or absence of clinical manifestations. RESULTS: The distribution of the CCR5Δ32 genotype differed between BD patients and controls…