Association of human FcγRIIa (CD32) polymorphism with susceptibility to and severity of meningococcal disease

Abstract

Phagocytosis of bacteria constitutes an important defense mechanism against invasive bacterial diseases. Efficacy of phagocytosis by polymorphonuclear neutrophils is known to vary between allotypes of FcγRIIa (a class of Fc receptors for immunoglobulins that is constitutively expressed on neutrophils). We compared the distribution of FcγRIIa-R131 and FcγRIIa- H131 allotypes in 98 Slavic complement-sufficient patients with meningococcal disease with that of the allotypes in 107 healthy controls. A strong association was found between the IIa-R/R131 allotype and the development of meningococcal disease after the age of 5 years, compared with IIa-R/H131 and IIaH/H131 allotypes (P