Abstract
Immune responsiveness of 121 patients with post-schistosomal liver cirrhosis to schistosomal antigens was investigated. Out of 78 patients, only five (6.4%) showed low responsiveness to schistosomal adult worm antigen whereas 73 (93.6%) were high responders. Out of 57 healthy individuals with previous schistosomal infection, low responders were found in 17.5%. The frequency of low responders to schistosomal adult worm antigen was significantly decreased in the patients with post-schistosomal liver cirrhosis (P <0.05). Out of 121 patients, a significant increase in frequency of HLA-Bw44-DEn haplotype was observed (corrected P<0.02). On the other hand, HLA-Bw52-Dw12 haplotype which was reported to be in strong linkage disequilibrium with an immune suppression gene for schistosomal adult worm antigen was significantly decreased (correct P<0.005). These observations suggested that an HLA-linked immune suppression gene controlled susceptibility or resistance to post-schistosomal liver cirrhosis through regulation of immune responsiveness of the hosts to schistosomal antigen in man.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 493-499 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Clinical and Experimental Immunology |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Publication status | Published - Jan 1 1982 |
| Externally published | Yes |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Immunology and Allergy
- Immunology