Susceptibility to human cutaneous leishmaniasis and HLA, Gm, Km markers

A relationship between markers related to the immune response (HLA system, Gm and Km immunoglobulin allotypes) and susceptibility to cutaneous leishmaniasis was investigated in a population of Hmong refugees who had recently settled in French Guiana. Two approaches were used: 1) case/control comparisons of the marker phenotype distribution to detect possible associations; 2) multiple-case family studies to search for marker-linked genes. When the distribution of HLA-A, B, C, antigens and Gm, Km allotypes was compared between patients and controls, only a significant decrease of HLA-Cw7 antigen among leishmaniasis patients was detected (p = 0.01). No interaction between any two of these markers and the disease was found. On the other hand, neither an HLA, Gm or Km susceptibility gene could be demonstrated in the informative sets of affected siblings. These results are discussed with respect to those reported in other infectious diseases.