To investigate the etiology of keloids, the polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific primer method was used to analyze the distribution of HLA-DRB1 alleles in 192 patients with keloids and 273 healthy control individuals.
Recent data also suggest that carriers of specific major histocompatibility complex (MHC) alleles, in particular HLA-DRB1*15, HLA-DQA1*0104, DQB1*0501 and DQB1*0503, are at increased risk of developing keloid scarring.
We have demonstrated for the first time that a genetic association exists between HLA-DRB1*15 status and the risk of developing keloid scarring in Caucasians.