Major Histocompatibility Complex Genes and Susceptibility to Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in Northern India

Abstract
Fifty-eight patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) from Northern India were tissue typed for HLA class I and II antigens. The results revealed an appreciable increase of HLA-DR4 (37.5%) among patients compared with controls (17.9%), P < 0.03. Additionally, haplotype B8-DR3 was encountered frequently in the patient group. The findings suggest an important role of MHC genes in influencing susceptibility to SLE.