PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - J R Zelefsky
AU  - C J Taylor
AU  - M Srinivasan
AU  - S Peacock
AU  - R S Goodman
AU  - T Key
AU  - P G Watson
AU  - E T Cunningham
TI  - HLA-DR17 and Mooren’s ulcer in South India
AID  - 10.1136/bjo.2007.127050
DP  - 2008 Feb 01
TA  - British Journal of Ophthalmology
PG  - 179--181
VI  - 92
IP  - 2
4099  - http://bjo.bmj.com/content/92/2/179.short
4100  - http://bjo.bmj.com/content/92/2/179.full
SO  - Br J Ophthalmol2008 Feb 01; 92
AB  - Objective: To investigate the association between Mooren’s ulcer and human leucocyte antigen (HLA) type DR17(3) in patients from the Tamil Nadu State of South India.Methods: Blood samples from 38 patients with Mooren’s ulcer and 45 age- and sex-matched controls were obtained prospectively. HLA-DR and HLA-DQ typing was performed by PCR using sequence-specific primers.Results: Fifteen (40%) of the patients with Mooren’s ulcer tested positive for HLA-DR17(3) compared with seven (16%) of the controls (p = 0.01). Seventeen (45%) of the patients also tested positive for the closely linked HLA-DQ2 compared with 11 (24%) of controls (p = 0.05). When adjusted for multiplicity, the correlation between HLA-DR17(3) and Mooren’s ulcer remained significant (p = 0.03).Conclusions: These data demonstrate an association between HLA-DR17(3) and Mooren’s ulcer in South Indian patients, supporting autoimmune theories about the pathogenesis of the disorder.