HLA—Bw52 in Takayasu Disease

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Abstract
Takayasu disease is characterized by a pulseless condition which most often occurs in young females from Asian or Sokth American areas. The cause of this disease remains obscure. Monozygotic, Japanese identical twin sisters were diagnosed as having Takayasu disease. A genetically related factor was considered and HLA analysis was carried out. A population study on HLA typing analyses of 65 patients with Takayasu disease revealed a high frequency of HLA-B5 as compared with 128 healthy Japanese (.chi.2:17.0, P < 10-4). Subgroups of B5, Bw51 and Bw52 were successively studied in 82 patients with this disease. Bw51 antigen was found in 12.2% of patients with Takayasu disease and in 19.5% of 128 healthy Japanese. Bw52 antigen was confirmed in 43.9% of patients, a statistically significant frequency with the level of 26.5 in the .chi.2 test (c [corrected] P < 3 .times. 10-4) when compared with 12.5% in normal Japanese. Thus a genetically related factor in the pathogenesis of Takayasu disease has to be considered. [The possibility that an autoimmune mechanism causes the disease was discussed].