Abstract
One hundred thirteen and 114 patients with sarcoidosis, who were diagnosed histologically, have been typed for HLA class I (A, B, C) and class II (DR, DQ) antigens, respectively. Controls consisted of 478 healthy Japanese.Among HLA class I antigens, the frequencies of HLA, A1, Bw46, and Cx46 were significantly increased in sarcoidosis compared to controls, but only three patients were positive for HLA A1. Regarding HLA class II antigens, HLA DRw8, w9 and w52 were significantly higher in sarcoidosis than in controls, but no significant difference was observed between the two groups in terms HLA DQ antigen. Increased frequencies of HLA Bw46 and Cx46 were thought to be attributable to linkage disequilibrium with DRw8.
Patients with DRw52 were the most common (84 cases of 113, 74.3%). No significant differences in clinical features were observed between DRw52-positive and negative patients but all the patients with muscular involvement (5 palpable nodule cases and one myopathy case) were positive for DRw52. Among patients positive for DRw52, those with DR5 showed a significantly better clinical course and earlier onset of the disease than those without DR5.
These results suggest that HLA antigens may play an important role in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis.
