Possible protective role of HLA-B*2706 for ankylosing spondylitis.

HLA-B27 is strongly associated with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) but the role of the HLA molecule itself is still unclear. In this study on Singapore Chinese, we have subtyped 50 B27 positive AS patients and 45 B27 positive normals and found that the B*2706 allele has a significant negative association with disease (p = 0.047). Together with recent data indicating the existence of AS "protective" B27 alleles, our data shows that the HLA molecule itself plays a crucial role in disease development.