Comparative analysis of HLA class I antigens in pulmonary sarcoidosis and tuberculosis in the same ethnic group

OBJECTIVE: To compare occurrences of respective HLA class I antigens in patients with sarcoidosis (SA), patients with tuberculosis (TB), and healthy controls in the same ethnic group in Poland. PATIENTS AND METHODS: HLA-A, -B, and -C antigens were determined from 1994 to 1997 by using the National Institutes of Health method in 100 patients with SA, 100 patients with TB, and 100 healthy controls. Frequencies of specific antigens were compared among the 3 groups. RESULTS: Our study showed that among SA patients, the HLA-B51(5) and HLA-B8 antigens tended to be more common and the HLA-B13, -B35, and -Cw4 antigens tended to be less common than in the controls. However, after Bonferroni correction, only the HLA-B35 antigen was found to be significantly different in SA patients and controls. In TB patients, the expression of HLA-B62(15) and HLA-Cw5 antigens tended to be more common compared with controls and HLA-A2 less common compared with controls, but only the differences in B62(15) and Cw5 were significant after Bonferroni correction. HLA-B51(5) and HLA-B8 antigens were statistically more frequent and B13, B62(15), and Cw4 less frequent in SA than in TB patients and remained significant after Bonferroni correction. The occurrence of other antigens studied in both populations was comparable. CONCLUSION: We identified associations of HLA class I antigens in patients with SA or TB, with an expression pattern specific and different for each group.