Association of tuberculosis and M. tuberculosis-specific antibody levels with HLA.
In the search for HLA-linked immune response genes that control susceptibility to tuberculosis, we performed HLA typing and measured antibody titers to well-defined Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigenic determinants in 101 patients with sputum smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis and 64 healthy controls from Surabaya, Indonesia. HLA-DR2 and DQw1 were associated with sputum smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis (attributable risk = 36% and 39%, respectively), while DQw3 was associated even more strongly with the control group (preventive fraction = 57%). Antibody titers to the TB71 and TB72 epitopes of the 38-kDa protein, present only on tubercle bacilli, were strongly associated with DR2 (Pcorr = .001 and .024, respectively). The association of both the disease and the antibody response to the 38-kDa antigen of M. tuberculosis with Class II HLA genes HLA-DR2 indicates that Ir-gene-mediated regulation of the immune response to this antigen may be of pathogenic significance for the development of sputum smear-positive tuberculosis.
Bothamley
G H
GH
Medical Research Council Tuberculosis and Related Infections Unit, Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital, London.
Beck
J S
JS
Schreuder
G M
GM
D'Amaro
J
J
de Vries
R R
RR
Kardjito
T
T
Ivanyi
J
J
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology*; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D000939:Epitopes; D005787:Gene Frequency; D006681:HLA-D Antigens / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D007214:Indonesia; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology*; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D000939:Epitopes; D006681:HLA-D Antigens