Tuberculoid leprosy and HLA in Japanese

HLA phenotypes of 54 patients with tuberculoid leprosy were compared with those of 167 healthy controls. Frequencies of HLA-A, -B and -C antigens did not differ significantly between the leprosy patients and the controls. However, an increase in the frequencies of DR1, DR2, DRW8 and MT1 antigens and a decrease in the frequencies of DR4 and MT3 antigens were observed in the leprosy patients. Statistical evidence was presented that MT1 antigens were primarily associated with tuberculoid leprosy in Japanese patients rather than DR2.