HLA/Bf haplotypes in a Newfoundland family

HLA/Bf haplotypes were examined in a large three-generation Newfoundland family with a high incidence of Graves' disease. In that family Graves' disease was inherited in association with the haplotype HLA Aw24, Bw39 in some instances and with HLA B8-containing haplotypes in other instances. As all seven members of the family who suffered from Graves' disease were homozygous for the Bf S allele, the study for Bf was uninformative. However, the examination of other HLA/Bf haplotypes disclosed some interesting associations. One-hundred-and-five out of 168 HLA-A, -B, -Bf haplotypes were Bf S. Although numerically deviant, no unusual HLA B/Bf associations were observed. Bf F entered the family only once. A new finding is the association between HLA B27 and Bf S1; the haplotype entered the family once and was passed on to eight family members over three generations. Bf S1 was previously reported in association with HLA B12 or W21. None of these family members had ankylosing spondylitis. The Bf allele F1 entered the family three times, always in association with HLA B18.