HLA antigens in White and Black South African diabetics

The HLA A and B specificities in 72 Whites with type 1 or juvenile-onset diabetes mellitus (JOD), 53 Blacks with type 1 diabetes or JOD and 52 Blacks with type II or maturity-onset diabetes (MOD) were determined and compared with those in 278 Whites and 311 Blacks who were not diabetic. In Whites with JOD, frequencies of HLA A1 and B8 antigens were significantly increased, whereas those of the A3 and B17 antigens were reduced. Blacks with JOD had an increased frequency of HLA B8. By contrast, in Blacks with MOD the antigen frequencies were not significantly altered. The D-locus antigens Dw3 (DRw3) and Dw4 (DRw4), which bear the strongest associations with JOD in Whites, need to be examined in Black South African diabetics.