LMP7 POLYMORPHISM IN JAPANESE PATIENTS WITH SARCOIDOSIS AND BEHCETS-DISEASE

To evaluate the influence of the MHC-linked LMP7 gene on disease susce ptibility in HLA class I and class II-associated diseases, the distrib ution of LMP7 alleles was determined using the PCR-RFLP method in 69 J apanese patients with Behcet's disease, 65 patients with sarcoidosis, and 100 unrelated healthy controls. No differences were found between either of the patient groups and the healthy control group, indicating that LMP7 allelic variation may not contribute to the pathogenesis of either Behcet's disease or sarcoidosis. We also analyzed linkage dise quilibria between LMP7 and HLA class II alleles in Japanese population s. (C) American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, 199 6.