Association of HLA-DRw2 antigen with presumed ocular histoplasmosis

Patients with presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome were typed for HLA-A, B, C, and DR antigens. It was found that 21 (81%) of 26 of the presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome patients with disciform macular scarring and 8 (62%) of 13 of the presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome patients with peripheral atrophic spots typed for DRw2. The frequency of DRw2 in normal blood donors was 28%. The 77% (20 patients) frequency of B7 in 26 of the presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome patients with disciform scarring was also significantly higher than the 25.6% frequency of B7 in normal blood donors. In contrast, no significant differences were observed in any HLA antigen frequency for patients with disciform scarring of degenerative choroidopathy. These observations suggest that an association with DRw2 may play a role in the pathogenesis of the eye lesions after Histoplasma capsulatum infection.