title: HLA-B 12 and HLA-B 27 antigens and susceptibility to the corneal allograft reaction.
abstract: Our series comprised 100 penetrating corneal transplantations: 36 cases with HLA-B 12 and/or B 27 antigen in the recipient and, as controls, 64 cases without these antigens. The cornea was vascular in 44% of the HLA-B 12/B 27 group and in 40% of the controls. In the HLA-B 12/B 27 group AR developed in 13 of 36 cases, 36%; but in the control group only in one case (2%). In vascular and avascular cases the incidence of AR was equal. Among the high-risk cases of the HLA-B 12/B 27 group with definite mismatching of B 12 or B 27 antigens, 9 of the 14 recipients had developed AR. Six further recipients of this group had untyped grafts, and AR occurred in 4 of the 6, but in none of the 16 cases that were matched for B 12 or B 27 antigens. The value of a compatible graft, at least to the carriers of HLA-B 12 and/or B 27 antigens, is thus confirmed.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D003315:Cornea / Q000098:blood supply; D016039:Corneal Transplantation; D005260:Female; D006084:Graft Rejection; D006680:HLA Antigens; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
chemical_list: D006680:HLA Antigens