This is not due to variation in ABO frequency, since the specimens from patients and normals are matched for ABO frequency, and it is not due to differences in secretor frequency, but represents a real dificit for Pp2 in patients with multiple sclerosis, particularly noticeable in group O individuals.
Linkage of a hypothesized multiple sclerosis susceptibility gene with certain haplotypes of HLA-A3, HLA-B7 HLA-DW2, and the new B group 4 can be inferred.
Results on serotyping for "B-cell DW2" antigen are suggestive of an increased frequency of this antigen in chronic progressive MS patients (RR = 2.9, P = 0.01).
Determination of HLA-A, -B and -C types in 43 Japanese patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and of DR type in 25 MS patients was carried out using antisera from the 7th International Histocompatibility Workshop.
The conclusions were: 1) There were no significantly higher occurrences of HLA-A3, B7, Dw2 or DRw2 in Japanese MS. 2) Japanese MS might nevertheless be associated with the human major histocompatibility complex, because HLA-B40 was significantly less frequent in MS and two anti HLA-DRw sera, 7w008 and 034, reacted positively more often against lymphocytes from MS patients.
In the MS patient group, a much weaker association was noted between BfS and HLA-B7 suggesting either that the Bf locus is musch closer to the HLA-D than the HLA-B locus or (and) that HLA-D and Bf products selectively interact (perhaps on the surface of B lymphocytes) with evolutionary advantage or disadvantage resulting from certain allelic combinations.
The possibility that the HLA-Dw2, BfS disequilibrium has resulted from a selective advantage conferred on the general community but at the expense of increasing susceptibility to MS should be considered.
The possibility that the HLA-Dw2, BfS disequilibrium has resulted from a selective advantage conferred on the general community but at the expense of increasing susceptibility to MS should be considered.
Normal or only slightly elevated frequencies of B7 and Dw2 were found in MS patients without oligoclonal CSF IgG (35 and 29%), normal CSF-IgG index (43 and 39%), and the most benign course (42 and 37%).
To test the hypothesis that a multiple sclerosis susceptibility (MSS) gene is linked to the HLA loci, formal linkage analysis was conducted on 40 multiplex families, 20 each from the Seattle and Los Angeles areas.
The absolute electrophoretic mobility of RBC of near relatives of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients has been studied in the presence of 0.08 mg/ml linoleic (LA) or arachidonic acid (AA).
Recently published studies of formal linkage analyses strongly suggest that a multiple sclerosis susceptibility (MSS) gene is linked to the HLA region of the sixth chromosome.
C3 hemolytic activity has been measured in serum and C.S.F. of 67 multiple sclerosis (M.S.) patients classified in three evolutionary groups according to the index of progression of the disease and tested in HLA-A, B, C, DR and Bf.
In Black American MS patients, the B7 frequency is slightly increased but Dw2 is still significantly associated with MS. For the HLA-DR antigen series DR2 is shown to have a stronger association to MS than A3 and B7.