Frequency of D8/17 B lymphocyte alloantigen in North Indian patients with rheumatic heart disease

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Abstract
Ninety patients with rheumatic heart disease and 50 age- and sex-matched healthy human volunteers representing a North Indian population were typed for the B cell alloantigen D8/17 using a monoclonal antibody and a single step immunofluorescence technique. This alloantigen was expressed in 66.44% patients with RHD as compared with 14% of the normal population. A high relative risk (RR = 11.13) indicated a strong association of D8/17 B cell alloantigen with rheumatic heart disease. Increase in the frequency of the marker was observed with increasing age up to the fifth decade (40–49 years) in these patients. However, the frequency of this alloantigen, in the present study, in North Indian patients with rheumatic heart disease is lower than that reported in the American population.