HLA-A, -B and -C specificities in insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in the Egyptian population

The diversity of HLA antigens frequencies associated with Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM) reported in different populations raised the importance of determining HLA-A, -B and -C specificities in patients with IDDM in the Egyptian population. The study has been carried out on thirty patients with IDDM and thirty healthy control subjects matched for age and sex as patients included in the study. The results of the present work showed that patients with IDDM showed a significant increase in frequency of HLA-A2, HLA-B8 and HLA-B15. These findings are in accordance with the genetic heterogeneity of IDDM which is in turn in harmony with the modern concept on the complex aetiology of the disease. On the other hand, HLA-A3, HLA-B5 and HLA-B7 have been found significantly decreased in patients with IDDM, thus suggesting that these alleles may confer a protective effect from acquiring the disease. When HLA specificities have been studied in relation to the age of onset of the disease, HLA-A29 have been found in higher frequency in the age group after 15 years, while HLA-B15 in that before 15 years. This variability may be related to variation in the viral agents responsible for the infectious mechanism.