Maternal HLA-DR homozygosity is not associated with an increased risk of fetal loss
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1Department of Transfusion Medicine, The Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, Scotland.
An attractive but controversial hypothesis holds that HLA similarity between mother and offspring predisposes to early fetal loss. Against this background, Hoff et al. (1992) have reported a significant association between maternal HLA-DR homozygosity and fetal loss in a cohort of multigravid American women. To re-examine this finding independently, a similar investigation was carried out on a comparable group of British subjects. The HLA-DR data of 75 multigravid women were analysed: the proportion of women who had experienced fetal loss did not differ between HLA-DR homozygous and heterozygous subjects.
An attractive but controversial hypothesis holds that HLA similarity between mother and offspring predisposes to early fetal loss. Against this background, Hoff et al. (1992) have reported a significant association between maternal HLA-DR homozygosity and fetal loss in a cohort of multigravid American women. To re-examine this finding independently, a similar investigation was carried out on a comparable group of British subjects. The HLA-DR data of 75 multigravid women were analysed: the proportion of women who had experienced fetal loss did not differ between HLA-DR homozygous and heterozygous subjects.