[HLA and association with illness]

Abstract

Even though HLA associations meanwhile are known to be existent in more than 40 diseases, practical application of HLA typing for diagnostic and prognostic purposes is limited to only a few diseases (for instance HLA-B27 typing in ankylosing spondylitis). Still, new aspects were found for genetics, etiology as well as for pathogenesis of numerous diseases. Knowledge about the structure of HLA antigens and their biological function has led to a better understanding of the immunomechanisms. Using molecular biological techniques it was possible, in some diseases, to define those alleles and aminoacid sequences within the HLA molecule which are primarily responsible for the disease association. Thereby the topic of HLA and disease developed into a research field that is equally interesting for hemogeneticists, immunologists and clinicians and also has connections to the clinical praxis.