Abstract
Background: The MHC class II region appears to play an important role in the development and clinical picture of sarcoidosis, probably due to the influence on the immune response against yet unknown antigen(s). A previous HLA-class II study in Danes has shown that HLA-DR3 antigen is associated with a favorable prognosis and HLA-DRw6 with susceptibility to sarcoidosis (Ødum et al, Exp Clin Immunogenet 1991;8:227-321).
Subjects and methods: HLA-DRB1 allele classification was performed by PCR in ethnic Danish patients with biopsy-verified sarcoidosis (n=94). Danish blood donors (n = 10146) served as controls.
Results: The prevalence of DRB1*01 was lower and the prevalence of DRB1*15 was higher in sarcoidosis patients compared to controls.
Conclusions: There exist no specific biochemical markers of sarcoidosis. Diagnosis relies on histological examination of tissue biopsy specimens in combination with the exclusion of infection with mycobacteria and other causes of the granulomatous response. Due to the paucity of prognostic markers, we suggest that analysis of HLA-DRB1 (and BTNL2 genotype (Milman et al, Clin Respir J 2011;5:105-11)) should be incorporated in the evaluation of sarcoidosis patients.
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