No primary association between LMP2 polymorphisms and extraspinal manifestations in spondyloarthropathies

OBJECTIVE—To investigate the potential role of the HLA-linked LMP2 (low molecular weight protein) gene polymorphisms in conjunction with DR4 and DR7 on extraspinal disease manifestations in HLA-B27 positive patients with spondyloarthropathy.
METHODS—172 patients with spondyloarthropathy, 46 healthy, HLA-B27 positive blood donors, and 99 unrelated controls were typed for HLA-class I and II antigens. LMP2 alleles were determined by polymerase chain reaction and subsequent restriction enzyme digestion.
RESULTS—There were statistically non-significant increases of DR4 and DR7 in spondyloarthropathy subjects. However these differences did not relate to specific extraspinal manifestations. There …