Possible presence of HLA alleles to inhibit the recurrent aphthous stomatitis onset

Abstract Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the involvement of human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class 1 and class 2 alleles in resistance to recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS). Materials and methods Nucleotide sequence-based typing of HLA-A, -B, -Cw, and -DRB1 alleles was performed on 22 Japanese participants who had never developed RAS, but had a family history of this disease. Results One HLA-B allele, B*5801, and one HLA-Cw allele, Cw*0302, showed a significant positive association with resistance to RAS, while no such correlation was found for HLA-A and HLA-DRB1 alleles. Conclusion Our findings strongly suggest the existence of HLA alleles associated with resistance to RAS, indicating that HLA alleles or closely linked loci may be involved in the development and pathogenesis of RAS.