Abstract
The association of HLA-B51 with Behçet’s Disease (BD) is well-known. Recent reports have suggested that HLA-A26 might also be associated with BD. We therefore investigated the frequency of HLA-A26 in BD and its relevance with clinical features. HLA phenotyping data were obtained from 161 patients (76 males and 85 females), who had been diagnosed with BD at Teikyo University Hospital from 1989 until 2009 according to the 1987 criteria of BD Research Committee of Japan. The frequencies of B51 and A26 were 48.4% and 29.2%, respectively, which were significantly higher than those of the healthy Japanese population (p＜0.0001and p＝0.0135 ［Fisher’s exact probability test］). The incidence of mucocutaneous lesions, ocular manifestation and epididymitis were not significantly correlated with A26. The incidence of vascular involve-ment (VBD) and that of joint involvement were significantly lower in A26-positive patients compared with A26-negative patients (4.3% vs. 21.1% ［p＝0.0085］ and 23.4% vs. 41.2% ［p＝0.0463］, respectively). The incidence of intestinal involvement (IBD) appeared to be higher in A26-positive patients, although it did not reach statistical significance (p＝0.1412). The results confirm the significant association of HLA-A26 with BD in Japanese patients. Moreover, the data suggest that HLA-B51 and HLA-A26 might have significant influences on the expression of various organ involvements.
