Myasthenia gravis patients with thymus hyperplasia and myasthenia gravis patients with thymoma display different HLA associations.
Thirty myasthenia gravis (MG) patients (9 with thymoma, 12 with thymus hyperplasia and 9 with thymic atrophy) and 181 Norwegian healthy controls were serologically typed for HLA-A, -B and -DR antigens and genomically typed for HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DQB1 alleles by probing in vitro amplified DNA with sequence-specific oligonucleotides. In patients with thymus hyperplasia the frequency of the DQB1*0201 allele was increased compared to controls (RR = 3.5, p less than 0.05), whereas among the patients with thymoma this allele was not observed (RR = 0.06, p less than 0.01). The frequencies of HLA-B8, -DR3 and -DQA1*0501, which are in strong linkage disequilibrium with DQB1*0201, were increased in patients with hyperplasia and reduced in patients with thymoma. The data suggest that different HLA genes predispose to two different forms of MG.
Spurkland
A
A
Institute of Transplantation Immunology, National Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
Gilhus
N E
NE
Rønningen
K S
KS
Aarli
J A
JA
Vartdal
F
F
D000483:Alleles; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D006965:Hyperplasia; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology*; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; D013945:Thymoma / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000473:pathology*; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*
D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D006680:HLA Antigens; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes