Secondary Sjögren's syndrome and chromosome six markers

Abstract

Patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS) in association with either Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) or Sclerodactyly were tested for HLA‐A, B and Dr antigens and the phenotypes of the 4th component of complement (C4). Significant associations were identified between HLA‐Bw62, Dr4, C4B2.9, C4A8 and females with SS‐RA. The MHC antigen frequencies noted for secondary Sjögren's syndrome differed from those reported for their respective primary diseases and the implications of these observations are discussed. Copyright © 1985, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved