Prevalence of HLA-DR3 and autoantibodies to connective tissue components in Dupuytren's contracture.

Forty-six patients with Dupuytren's contracture (DC) and 55 control persons were HLA-typed for class I and HLA-DR class II antigens and were investigated for the presence of autoantibodies against elastin (ELAB) and collagen types I-IV (ACA I-IV). Using the chi 2 test, obtained from 2 x 2 contingency tables, a significant association was found between DC and HLA-DR3 and autoantibodies to types I-IV collagen. ELAB and ACA I and III were significantly correlated with HLA-DR3 in the whole group of patients plus controls. In analogy to other diseases with autoimmunologic features the presence of HLA-DR3 therefore seems to indicate a higher risk for the formation of connective tissue autoantibodies. The remodeling processes during the course of fibrosis in DC might be responsible for this autoantibody formation.