HLA-A33 and -B44 and susceptibility to postherpetic neuralgia (PHN)

HLA class I and class II alleles of 32 Japanese patients with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) and 136 healthy controls were analyzed by serological (clas s I) and DNA (class II) typing for any significance in the susceptibility t o varicella-zoster virus (VZV). We recognized positive associations of the development of PHN with the HLA class I antigens HLA-A33 and -B44, and the HLA-A33-B44 haplotype. This haplotype is tightly linked to DRB1*1302 in a J apanese healthy population. However, no significant association between PHN and HLA class II alleles was observed with no linkage of the HLA haplotype HLA-A33-B44 to HLA-DRB1*1302 in the patients with PHN. These findings sugg est that HLA class I gene may genetically control the immune response again st VZV in the pathogenesis of PHN.