HLA-DQA2 and asthma: The finding that asthma-associated SNPs in the class II region were associated with increased HLA-DQA2 and HLA-DQB2 expression is consistent with our earlier results showing that predicted increased expression of HLA-DQA2 and HLA-DQB2 [65] was among the most significant gene-based associations with asthma risk [3].