UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF HLA-B27 IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS

Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) is an autoimmune disease which is mostly characterised by lower back pain and fusion of the vertebrae. Over 90% of AS patients express the HLA-B27 gene and the probability of disease increases during infection with gastrointestinal bacteria. In this study we look at how mutations in the HLA-B27 gene and infection with Salmonella impact of on its immunological function. We observed that inflammation due to infection drastically increase an abnormal form of HLA-B27, possibly leading to autoimmunity. The data collected in this study would also be valuable for interrogation of other Spondyloarthropathies.