DQB1*02, DQA1*0201/*0501 (Ls) and DRB1*15/*13 (Stage II) were more frequently present in SA than in TB, but after correction, only DRB1*15, DQB1*02, DQA1*0501 were significantly different.
Our finding of a high frequency of DRB1*08 (which lacks the DRB3 gene encoding the DR52 antigen) in patients living in both eastern Japan and in Hokkaido, confirms that it is the HLA-DRB1 locus, rather than that of the HLA-DRB3, -DQA1, or -DQB1, which determines the susceptibility to sarcoidosis.
These results suggest that the HLA-alleles responsible for the susceptibility to sarcoidosis are located at the HLA-DRB1 locus rather than the HLA-DRB3, -DQA1 and -DQB1 loci.