Disturbance of HL-A Antigen Frequency in Psoriasis

Abstract

One hundred and fifty-six psoriatic patients had three HL-A specificities significantly altered from expected values; W17 and HL-A13 were found to be markedly increased, and HL-A12 decreased. The increased frequency of W17 and HL-A13 suggests that persons with these tissue types are at increased risk of the disease. Conversely, those with HL-A12 are at decreased risk. W17 is a useful genetic marker for detecting a subgroup of psoriatic patients characterized by a high rate of affected relatives and a slightly earlier age at onset, whereas HL-A12 appears to detect a subgroup with an infrequent family history of this disease. Psoriasis associated with W17 or HL-A12 appears to have a distinctive mode of inheritance, whereas psoriasis associated with HL-A13 could not be shown to be inherited. No significant association with arthritis, severity, distribution of lesions, sex, and red-cell type was noted.