HLA--Bw54 (Bw22-J, J-1) antigen in juvenile onset diabetes mellitus in Japan.

HLA--B8 and/or Bw15, associated with juvenile onset insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (JDM) in Caucasians, have a very low frequency in the Japanese population. Thus, we were interested in investigating the association between JDM and HLA antigen in a Japanese population. Eighty-nine patients with JDM and 128 unrelated random controls were HLA-typed by the microlymphocytotoxicity test. The data revealed a significant, positive association between this type of diabetes mellitus and HLA--Bw54 (Bw22-J, J-1) antigen (Japanese-specific split antigen of HLA--Bw22).