Abstract
We investigated the possible relationship of the distribution of immunoglobulin allotypic markers for susceptibility to Kawasaki disease in Japanese, Japanese-American, and white American populations. The kappa-chain allotype Km1 was present in 25.6% of sera from white patients with Kawasaki disease and in 14.4% of control sera (p < 0.01), and the combination of Km1 with Gm heterozygosity was present in 17.9% of white patients with Kawasaki disease and in 6.4% of control sera (p < 0.0001). In all populations studied, differences were observed between the patients with Kawasaki disease and the race-matched control subjects. The findings support the hypothesis that one or more unknown infectious agents may trigger genetically influenced immune responses that result in clinically recognizable Kawasaki disease.
MeSH terms
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Adult
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Alleles
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Asian / genetics
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Asian People / genetics
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Child
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Disease Susceptibility
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Genes, Dominant
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Genetic Markers
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Heterozygote
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Humans
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Immunoglobulin Allotypes / analysis
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Immunoglobulin Allotypes / genetics*
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Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains / analysis
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Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains / genetics
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Immunoglobulin Light Chains / analysis
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Immunoglobulin Light Chains / genetics
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Immunoglobulin alpha-Chains / analysis
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Immunoglobulin alpha-Chains / genetics
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Immunoglobulin gamma-Chains / analysis
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Immunoglobulin gamma-Chains / genetics
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Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains / analysis
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Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains / genetics
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Japan / ethnology
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Male
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Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome / genetics
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Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome / immunology*
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United States
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White People / genetics
Substances
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Genetic Markers
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Immunoglobulin Allotypes
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Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains
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Immunoglobulin Light Chains
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Immunoglobulin alpha-Chains
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Immunoglobulin gamma-Chains
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Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains