I. Potolicchio et al., SUSCEPTIBILITY TO HARD METAL LUNG-DISEASE IS STRONGLY ASSOCIATED WITHTHE PRESENCE OF GLUTAMATE-69 IN HLA-DP-BETA CHAIN, European Journal of Immunology, 27(10), 1997, pp. 2741-2743
Clinical, epidemiological and experimental data indicate that inhaled
metal dust containing cobalt may produce an interstitial lung disease
termed ''hard metal disease'' (HMD). Some aspects of this pathology su
ch as the lack of correlation with dose exposure, the low frequency of
the disease and the presence of T cells in the inflammation site, all
suggest the existence of a genetic susceptibility, possibly to an imm
unological response to cobalt or to self proteins modified by cobalt.
Here we report that HMD is strongly associated with residue Glu-69 of
the HLA-DP beta chain. All patients, except for one with a rare genoty
pe, possessed this marker as compared to 17 out of 35 exposed unaffect
ed individuals (p = 0.0014). These data allow us to genetically distin
guish a subgroup of cobalt-exposed individuals at risk for HMD, indepe
ndently from the more common allergic reaction.