HLA-DPB1 ALLELES IN PATIENTS WITH RHEUMATOID-ARTHRITIS

The distribution of HLA-DPB1 alleles was studied in 94 adult Caucasian RA patients (65 = seropositive, 29 = seronegative) and 40 normal cont rols. The DPB1 alleles were defined by oligonucleotide typing of polym erase chain (PCR)-amplified genomic DNA. The prevalence of the DPB104 02 allele was higher in seropositive RA patients and DPB10201 was hig her in seronegative RA patients. These differences were not significan t, however. It is likely that DPB1 alleles do not play an important ro le in susceptibility to RA.