Background: We aimed to clarify the relationship between HLA-DRB1(*)1501 and anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) antibody-mediated disease in Japanese patients.
Materials: Samples were collected from 16 anti-GBM antibody-positive patients who were admitted to our department or related hospitals from December 1990 to October 2005. We analysed clinical and laboratory data, kidney biopsy findings, and the HLA-DR phenotypes and HLA-DRB1 alleles of the patients.
Results: Among the 16 patients, 15 had HLA-DR15 [the phenotype frequency (PF) was 93.8%], 7 were positive for DR4 (the PF was 43.8%) and 5 were positive for DR9 (the PF was 31.3%). The allele frequency of HLA-DRB1(*)1501 was 46.4% (13/28), which was significantly different from Japanese controls (11.6%) (P < 0.001). In contrast, the frequency of HLA-DRB1(*)1502 was not different from controls (0/28). The odds ratio of HLA-DRB1(*)1501 in these patients was 6.4 (95% CI: 2.4-16.5).
Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that Japanese patients with anti-GBM antibody-mediated disease are very likely to carry the HLA-DRB1(*)1501 but not the HLA-DRB1(*)1502 allele.