On the association between HLA-A1 and B5 and clinical forms of schistosomiasis mansoni

The association between both HLA-A1 and B5 antigens and chronic forms of human schistosomiasis was studied in 64 patients and 26 normal controls from a southern Brazilian hospital. No apparent correlation between the chronic forms of the disease and the expression of those antigens was detected. However, the analysis of these data together with those observed on an Egyptian sample suggests that the presence of either of the antigens and the hepatomegalic forms of schistosomiasis is significant, without heterogeneity. Conversely, the association of histocompatibility antigens with splenomegaly is consistent and significant only for HLA-B5, but not HLA-A1.