HLA-A, B, DR, and DQ antigens in Indian patients with severe chronic rheumatic heart disease.

To determine whether genetic factors could be involved in the pathogenesis of rheumatic heart disease, we performed HLA-A and HLA-B typing in 59 Indian patients with severe chronic rheumatic heart disease requiring cardiac surgery, and HLA-DR and HLA-DQ typing in 58 of these patients. The HLA typing was done by a standard microlymphocytotoxicity method. Patients were 12 to 59 years old (mean 32.9 years). No significant differences in HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-DR and HLA-DQ frequencies between patients and controls were noted. The role of genetically determined immune-response factors in the pathogenesis of chronic rheumatic heart disease was not evident in this study.