HLA-B27, ankylosing spondylitis and polymorph motility

Polymorphonuclear leucocyte functions were tested in 29 patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Twenty of these were HLA-B27 positive and 9 B27 negative. Thirty matched controls were also studied and of these, 15 were B27 negative. Random and directed cell migration were measured both by migration through a micropore filter and also by migration under an agar film. The attractant was serum activated either by casein or by zymosan. By both techniques, directed motility (chemotaxis) was increased in subjects with B27 and/or AS when compared with the B27 negative controls. This suggests that the disease AS and the possession of B27 are both associated with increased chemotaxis.