Sharing of HLA antigens in recurrent spontaneous abortions

ABSTRACT

Forty one patients suffering from unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion as well as 20 normal controls were included in the study. HLA-ABC and DRDQ typing for husbands and wives were performed. HLA typing of couples revealed significantly increased prevalence of DR8 antigen in female aborters and A2, B7 in their husbands, suggesting a possible vulnerable role. On the other hand B8, B18 in their DQW3 were significantly decreased in female aborters compared to controls, suggesting a possible protective role for these antigens. There was no significant difference in the incidence of HLA sharing between RSA and control groups. However, it was noted that the more the number of HLA antigens shared between couples, the higher the risk for recurrent abortion. HLA antigens sharing at the A and DQ loci was found to be significantly increased among RSA couples but nonsignificant at the B, C and DR loci. Sharing A2 and DQW2 antigen was significantly decreased among them, suggesting a possible protective role for sharing this antigen