HLA-D region β-chain DNA endonuclease fragments differ between HLA-DR identical healthy and insulin-dependent diabetic individuals
The human HLA-D histocompatibility region encodes class II antigens each of which consists of two polypeptide chains (α and β) inserted in the plasma membrane. These molecules are implicated in the regulation of the immune response1-3 but several human diseases are also found to be associated with certain HLA-DR antigens4. The occurrence of insulin-dependent (type I) diabetes (IDDM) is strongly as