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        Hellos again. I'd like to give some information about HLA so that
everyone will have a better understanding of it, as it's not a subject
that most people are aware of.
        HLA stands for Human Leukocyte Antigen ans these factors were
first found on white cells or leukocytes. HLA antigens are glycoproteins
(a combination of proteins and sugars) that are found on every nucleated
cell in the body. Mature red blood cells are the only cells that lack HLA
antigens as they do not have a nucleus.
        The HLA antigens are involved in immune regulation. Basicly, your
HLA type can be called your body type just as your particular ABO type is
your blood type. Because of these HLA markers, your body is able to
distinguish between what is from your body and what is not.
        HLA typing is done using leukocytes as it is a lot easier to take
a sample of blood and extract the leukocytes than it so to take a peice
of tissue and prepare it for the test. The problem with the change in
nomenclature occurs because this field is still developing. The first
attempt to standardize HLA nomenclature occurred in 1967. Every so often,
the WHO Terminology Committee meets to decide how the nomenclature should
be listed. The "w" in some types stands for workshop,meaning that this
designation is tenative upon review of future data.
        So, the results of HLA typing simply shows what HLA factors you
have inheritied from your parents. In no way can this information be used
to predict whether or not you will get a certain disease, even though it
has been shown that there are definite associations between certain HLA
types and diseases. The only reason one should go through HLA typing is
if they need a bone marrow transplant or they may be a bone marrow donor,
as HLA typing is extremely important for the success of a bone marrow
transplant. I can't imagine how it would help someone to make the
diagnosis of CD when there are more specific ways to determine that. In
the case of someone who has a family history of CD, perhaps HLA typing
would be useful to warn them of their possibility of CD.
        Hope this is helpful.
        Ellen Eagan
        South San Francisco, CA
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