Marija Kastelan, Franjo Gruber, Esma Cecuk, Vesna Kerhin-Brkljaci', Ljerka Brkljaci'-Surkalovi', Andrija Kastelan
DOI: 10.1080/00015550050500040

In common with most autoimmune diseases, psoriasis is associated with some HLA antigens. We studied the distribution of HLA antigens in Croatian patients with psoriasis: 108 patients were divided into groups according to family history and age of disease onset. HLA antigens were analyzed serologically and HLA-C alleles were analyzed using polymerase chain reaction. We found significant increases in HLA-A2, -B17, -B37 and-B13 antigens and highly significant increases in HLA-Cw*0602 and DR7 antigens in psoriatic patients compared with controls. Patients with type I psoriasis (early onset, positive family history) showed highly significant associations with Cw*0602 [ p< 0.00001; relative risk (RR) = 14.45] and DR7 (p< 0.00001; RR = 15.09) antigens. Patients with type II psoriasis (late onset, no family history) had a significant association with Cw*03 antigen (p = 0.008; RR = 0.17). In conclusion, HLA-B13, -B17, Cw*0602 and-DR7 antigens are associated with a significant risk of psoriasis in the Croatian population and the Cw*0602 allele has the strongest association, especially for type I psoriasis.