Determining whether risk for sebaceous adenitis of Standard Poodles is associated with a specific DLA class II genotype

Sebaceous adenitis is an autoimmune disease that is seen mainly in the Standard Poodle, Akita, and English Springer Spaniel. The incidence of the disease in Standard Poodles appears to be low at this time but increasing in frequency over time. The disease is a generalized skin disorder associated with an attack by the dog’s own immune system against the sebaceous glands. The breed is known to suffer from two other autoimmune diseases, Addison’s disease and autoimmune thrombocytopenia. Addison’s disease is due to a similar immune mediated destruction of the adrenal gland and is the subject of other studies here at UC Davis (Dr. Anita Oberbauer, Animal Biology, College of Agriculture). Autoimmune thrombocytopenia is also an autoimmune disease, but the attack is mediated by antibodies rather than immune lymphocytes and the target tissue is the mature platelet in the blood. As far as is known, the three disorders occur independently of each of other.