INDEPENDENT ASSOCIATIONS OF THE HLA-B27 ANTIGEN AND THE COMPLEMENT HAPLOTYPE SC21 IN CHRONIC ANTERIOR UVEITIS

There is evidence of an association between major histocompatibility c omplex (MHC) genes and acute anterior uveitis; here the authors report the frequency of class I and class III MHC phenotypes in 32 Mexican m estizo patients with chronic anterior uveitis and compared them to tho se present in 100 ethnically matched healthy controls. Results showed in patients statistically significant increased frequencies of HLA-B27 antigen (pC=0.02, OR=6.33, 95% CI:1.63-26.47) and the complotype SC21 (pC=0.04, OR=4.5, 95% CI:I 40-14.67); the authors found a decreased f requency of HLA-B35 (p=0.006, OR=0.10, 95% CI: 0.00-0.65) as compared to normal controls. None of the individuals bearing the SC21 complotyp e were positive for HLA-B27, suggesting independent roles of the class I and class III antigens in the genetic susceptibility to chronic ant erior uveitis.