Conventional alloantisera can recognize the same HLA-B27 polymorphism as detected by cytotoxic T lymphocytes

Subtypes of B27 have been identified by cytotoxic T lymphocytes, biochemistry, molecular biology, and murine monoclonal antibodies. In the present study we describe seven B27 subtype-specific pregnancy sera. The reaction pattern of these B27 subtype-specific sera closely parallels the recognition pattern of B27 subtype-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Because the complete amino acid sequence of the studied B27 subtypes (B27W, B27K, B27C, B27D) is known, it can be determined which amino acid substitutions are responsible for recognition by subtype-specific sera and by cytotoxic T lymphocytes, respectively. It is proposed that B27 subtype-specific sera and B27 subtype-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes recognize the same epitopes or that a single amino acid change can induce multiple antigenic determinants, which are recognized differentially by antibodies and T cells.