Immunogenetics of the Neonatal Lupus Syndrome

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Abstract
Infants with neonatal lupus erythematosus have congenital heart block, transient cutaneous lesions or both. Mothers of these infants have SSA/Ro autoantibodies that are passed across the placenta to the fetus and that have been temporarily associated with the syndrome. Six families with neonatal lupus were studied by HLA typing. All 7 infants had transient cutaneous lesions, congenital heart block or both. Of 6 mothers, 5 were asymptomatic and 1 had Sjogren''s syndrome. Six of 7 infants and all 6 mothers had antibodies to SSA/Ro in their sera. The infants became seronegative by age 8 mo. Five mothers were positive for HLA-DR3, 5 for HLA-MB2, 6 for HLA-MT2 and 6 for HLA-B8. No HLA associations were seen in infants. Gene products of the DR or similar regions may be associated with autoantibody production but not with other events in tissue injury.