A possible genetic link has been suggested in several dermatologic diseases. An increased incidence of HLA-A10 and HLA-B13 has been reported in pemphigus vulgaris, HLA-B17 and HLA-B13 in psoriasis, and HLA-B5 in Behçet syndrome.1 HLA-B8 has been reported in 70% to 88% of dermatitis herpetiformis cases and in 90% of adult celiac disease cases,2 which is suggestive of a close association between these two diseases.
The purpose of this study was to determine the HLA phenotype frequencies in a group of white patients with bullous pemphigoid (BP).
Subjects and Methods
Nineteen white patients with BP were studied. All had typical clinical disease and subepidermal bullae and all demonstrated the presence of immunoglobulins and/or C3 along the basement membrane zone (BMZ) of peribullous skin, as previously described.3HLA typing was performed by Amos microcytotoxicity tests4 with the use of 70 anti-HLA antisera. Similar tests were performed on