Absence of HLA-DRW2 in Japanese pemphigus vulgaris

17 Japanese patients with pemphigus vulgaris were examined by HLA typing. HLA-DRW2 was found in none of them as compared to 56 (39%) of 144 Japanese controls (p = 0.02). The association of HLA-DRW4 with pemphigus vulgaris was not recognized in our study. HLA-A, B and C typings were also performed, showing relatively high frequencies of the B15, BW35 and CW4. However, the occurrence of these specificities was not statistically significant. It is suggested that DRW2 plays an important role in the susceptibility to pemphigus vulgaris.