Analysis of HLA B27 in ankylosing spondylitis with human alloreactive cytolytic T lymphocyte clones: failure to detect disease-related T cell epitopes.

We have generated several human alloreactive cytolytic T lymphocyte (CTL) clones specific for HLA B27 expressed on cells of normals or of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). These clonal T cell reagents were used to test the recognition of panels of target cells from B27+AS+, B27+AS- and B27- individuals. None of these CTL clones distinguished differences between B27+AS+ and B27+AS- cells. Three clones recognized subtypes of HLA B27 and two of these were cytolytic with group-reactive epitopes of other HLA antigens. The results suggest that there are no immunogenic disease-specific epitopes of HLA B27 in B27-linked spondyloarthropathy.