Acromegaly and HLA KAZUKO YOSHIOKA , TAKEO JUJI AND KAZUO

The frequencies of HLA-antigens in A, B, C and DR loci were examined in 34 Japanese patients with acromegaly. The frequency of DRW9 was slightly higher and the frequency of DR4 was slightly, but not significantly, lower than the controls. Five HLA loci (A, B, C and D/DR loci) have been found and other new loci are expected to be disclosed. Since the associations of HLA with diseases began being investigated in various disorders, statistically significant associations have been demonstrated in many diseases. In particular, an extremely high correlation between HLAB27 and ankylosing spondylitis has been confirmed in all the ethnic groups tested so far. If a case of ankylosing spondylitis is suspected, HLA typing is now very useful in differential diagnosis. In this paper, data on HLA antigens in 34 Japanese patients with acromegaly are presented. Materials and Methods Patients 34 Japanese patients with acromegaly were studied. Diagnosis The diagnosis of acromegaly was based upon clinical findings, plasma GH levels, abnormal changes in plasma GH level after the administration of glucose, TRH, and LH-RH. HLA Typing Antigens in HLA-A, B, and C loci were typed by the microdroplet lymphocyte cytotoxicity test and HLA-DR antigens were typed using B lymphocytes which had been separated by a nylon wool column (Julius et al., 1973). Simultaneously, HLA typing was performed on 200 normal Japanese as controls.