Human Leukocyte Antigen-DP in Acute Nonlymphocytic and Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Abstract

Acute leukemias are characterized by the elonogenic proliferation

of haemopoietic progenitor cells arrested in maturation. Clinical

manifestations are related to the infiltration of the bone marrow and other

tissues by the leukemic blasts.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) from luekemic patients

(29)ANLL,(36)ALL and from normal donors(55)were typed for HLA-

DP specificities using microlymphocytotoxicity assay.

Results showed frequencies of DPw alleles in ANLL patients were

not significantly different from controls ,exept that in DPw1 was absent

.In contrast ,in ALL,frequencies of DPw2 and DPw5 were significantly

increased (p<0.05, relative risk (RR) = 1.95 and p<0.01, RR=4.27,

respectively.

These results ,therefore ,demonstrate both positive negative

associations between major histocompatibility complex (MHC) gene

products which are in only very weak linkage with the rest of HLA ,and

ALL,ANLL patients.The HLD-DP region could thus contain long sought

– after genes influencing susceptibility and resistance to leukeemogenesis.