HLA in multiple sclerosis. Relationship to measles antibody, mitogen responsiveness and clinical course.

In our study of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients we have found significant increases in the A3, B7, and DW2 antigens. We have also studied immune responses in these same patients. There was elevation of measles antibodies in MS patients positive for A3, B7, and B18 as compared to MS patients without those antigens. The first study of mitogen responsiveness (31 patients) showed a decreased response in A3, and B7 positive patients. Study of a second and a larger group (62 patients), at a different time, failed to confirm this deficiency. We propose that there is a genetically linked (HLA) T cell deficiency in some MS patients and that this deficiency results in high humoral responses to measles antigens and an evanescent (or cyclical) reduced T cell response to mitogen.