Restriction fragment length polymorphism of T cell receptor alpha and beta chain genes in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is very strongly associated with the class I major histocompatibility (MHC) antigen HLA-B27. Because class I MHC antigens function as restricting elements recognized by T cell antigen receptors, we sought to determine if there is preferential association between AS and particular T cell (TcR) alleles. In 49 patients with AS and 23 controls, we determined the frequencies of restriction fragment length polymorphisms linked to genes encoding the TcR alpha and beta chain constant regions. There was no significant difference between patients with AS and controls with respect to the frequencies of possible TcR genotypes. Although T cells may play a role in the pathogenesis of AS, these results provide no evidence for a distinctive germline T cell repertoire associated with AS.