Immunogenetics of the polyglandular failure syndrome

Addison's disease, Graves' disease, thyroiditis, hypoparathyroidism, hypogonadism, diabetes mellitus, myasthenia gravis, vitiligo and pernicious anemia are included in the polyglandular failure syndrome. This review focuses on the association of these illnesses with specific human leukocyte antigens (HLA) and organ specific autoimmunity. The prevalence of HLA-B8, HLA-Bw15 and HLA-Dw3 is increased in these disorders. The HLA region of chromosome 6 controls multiple immune functions. The common HLA associations and evidence of autoimmunity in the polyglandular failure diseases suggests that gene products of chromosome 6 contribute to the pathogenesis of these disorders.