Human histocompatibility antigen associations in patients with chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus

Increased frequency of certain human leukocyte antigens (HLA) has been reported in various subsets of patients with lupus erythematosus (LE). Specifically, HLA-B8 and HLA-DR3 have been associated with subacute cutaneous LE; HLA-DR3 or HLA-DR2 is found in mothers of infants with neonatal LE; and HLA-A1, HLA-B8, HLA-B15, and HLA-DR2 occur in patients with systemic LE. We typed twenty-two white and nineteen black patients with chronic cutaneous (discoid) LE (DLE) for the A, B, and DR loci of the HLA antigens. HLA-DRw6 was found in an increased proportion of our patients of both races compared with controls. HLA-B8 was found more frequently in white DLE patients than in white control subjects. Thus a genetic predisposition may be a factor that explains the variation in disease expression.