Serologically detectable HLA-A, B and C loci antigens in farmer's lung disease.

The frequency of serologically detectable (SD) HLA-A, B, and C loci antigens in subjects with farmer's lung disease (N = 100) was compared with that of age- and sex-matched normal farmers with no precipitating antibodies to extracts of thermophilic actinomycetes. A subset of the farming population with antibodies to the thermophilic actinomycetes and no evidence of clinical disease (N = 55) was also age- and sex-matched to the farmer's lung disease population. No significant associations between any of the SD HLA antigens tested and farmer's lung disease were found in the study. The data demonstrated that there was no association between SD HLA antigens and farmer's lung disease in random populations.