Excessive function of peripheral blood neutrophils from patients with behcet's disease and from hla‐b51 transgenic mice

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the role played by HLA-B51 in the neutrophil hyperfunction of Behçet's disease, we determined the superoxide production by purified peripheral blood neutrophils from Behçet's disease patients, from HLA-B51 positive healthy individuals, and from HLA-B51 transgenic mice. METHODS: Neutrophil function was evaluated by flow cytometric analysis, detecting the conversion of 2',7'-dichlorofluorescin diacetate into dichloroflurescein, induced by superoxide in the neutrophils. RESULTS: A significant correlation between the neutrophil hyperfunction and the possession of HLA-B51 phenotype, regardless of the presence of the disease, was observed in humans. FMLP-stimulated neutrophils (without in vitro priming) from HLA-B51 transgenic mice, but not those from HLA-B35 transgenic mice or from nontransgenic mice, produced substantial amounts of superoxide. CONCLUSION: The HLA-B51 molecule itself may be responsible, at least in part, for neutrophil hyperfunction in Behçet's disease.