HLA‐D Antigen of Japanese Origin (LD‐Wa) and its Association with Vogt‐Koyanagi‐Harada Syndrome

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Abstract
One homozygous cell, Wa, for HL-A-D alleles, associated with HL-A-Bw22J (Japanese specific variant of HL-A-Bw22), was found in a Japanese family. The HL-A-D antigenic specificity defined by this cell was tentatively named LD-Wa. Phenotype frequency of LD-Wa in the Japanese populations was 0.16 (13/81). HL-A-D typing for LD-Wa was performed in patients with the Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome (Harada''s disease) with which Bw22J is strongly associated (15/35, 42.9%; corrected P < 0.02). LD-Wa was present in 22 of 33 patients (66.7%; P < 0.0000003). The association of LD-Wa with Harada''s disease was stronger than that of Bw22J. Thus, there may be one of the disease susceptibility gene loci affecting the development of this disease more closely linked to an HL-A-D gene locus than the HL-A-B locus.