UTILIZATION OF COMMERCIAL ANTISERA AND FLOW-CYTOMETRY IN HLA-B27 TYPING

The study of large groups of individuals (from reactive arthritis epid emics, for example) for epidemiologic and genetic data has been hamper ed by the techniques by which HLA typing is performed. Microlymphocyto toxicity is costly not only in materials but also in the time required to perform a given assay and thus does not lend itself to large scale testing. To study such epidemics, in the best way, one must be able t o respond as soon as possible after the epidemic is recognized and on a large scale. We thus examined HLA-B27 typing by flow cytometry and c ommercially available monoclonal antibodies. Two commercially availabl e monoclonal HLA-B27 antibodies were compared. We conclude that the ut ilization of monospecific HLA-B27 antibodies and flow cytometry allows for the determination of HLA-B27 and HLA-B7 phenotype of a large numb er of individuals over a short period of time, thereby making the stud y of a large group both economical and feasible. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, inc.