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Since diarrhoea and weight loss are so characteristic of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), it is per- haps ::,urprising that only recently has there been careful investigation of the gastrointestinal tract of affected patienLs. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection of human intesti- nal mononuclear cells (C. Fiocchi, Cleveland) and of intestinal epi- thelium (M.F. Kagnoff, San Diego) have been demonstrated and it is clear that the changes in the intestinal epithelium are subtly differ- ent from those of other infectious and inflammatory diseases of the gut (M. Zeitz0 Berlin; A.G. Cummins, Adela!de). This report has concentrated al- most entirely on the gastrointestinal tract since that is mv ,~wn interest, but paoers relevant to other mucosal surfaces including the eye, the nose, the genital tract, the urinary tract and respiratory system were abundant; two interesting papers demonstrated possible effects of cigarette smoking on mucosal immunology (G.F. Cope, Leeds; J.R. Barton, Edinburgh). J. Holmgren and A.M. Svennerhoim (Gothenburg) separately presented details of progress in the develop- ment and application oral vac- cines; the oral cholera vaccine containing cholera B sub-unit cross- reacts immunologically with E. coil heat labile enterotoxin (LT) and has been shown to afford significant pro- tection against diarrhoea caused by LT producing enterotoxigenic E. coil (ETEC) in humans. Anne Ferguson is at the Department of Medi- cine, Western General Hospital, Edinbu~h EH4 2XU, UK. The WHO Nomenclature Committee for Factors of the HLA System t met during the Seventh Intematin. nal Congress of Im- munology to consider additions to pre- vious reports. Here new data on DNA sequences of alleles and of three new loci are presented and names of new a/le!~s and led defined by nucleotide or inferred amino acid sequences are given.

Relapsing polychondritis is a systemic disease of unknown cause in which various inflammatory reactions recur in the cartilage structures of the ears, nose, and trachea (Kaye & Sones 1964). Although the cause of this disease is unknown, several immunologic abnormalities have been noted which explain some of the pathogenic mechanisms involved (Dolan et al. 1966, Herman & Dennis 1973, Rajapakse & Bywaters 1974, McKenna et al. 1976, Bergfeld 1978, Foidart et al. 1978). To ascertain if the frequency of HLA antigen is increased among patients with this disease, we performed HLA-A and HLA-B locus typing in Caucasian patients with well documented disease. Serologically defined HLA antigens at the A and B loci were determined by the microcytotoxicity assay of Mittal et al. (1968). No statistically significant increase in the frequency of any of the HLA-A or B locus antigen type was found between the patient group and the control group (Table 1). These findings suggest that no correlation exists between HLA-A and B locus antigens and relapsing polychondritis. HLA-DRw antigen typing was not done, although such typing would be of interest.

Homozygous DW typing cells were tested for six B-lymphocyte specificities. All four of the second locus specificities of B lymphocytes were strongly associated with the DW specificities. DW1 typing cells were B group 6, DW2 were B4, DW3 were B5, and LD107 were B3. The first B-cell locus antigens 1 and 2 tended to be uniform within the DW groups. From an analysis of the typing responses of a panel of cells to the homozygous typing cells, it has become apparent that the first B-locus specificity present on the homozygous typing cells also plays a role in determining whether a typing response is obtained or not. Thus, the DW3 typing cells were themselves B2 and B5, and cells having B2-B5 were most frequently nonreactive to DW3 in mixed lymphocyte culture. Homozygous typing cells therefore mainly detect the second B-cell locus antigens and, to a lesser degree, the first locus specificities. Stated another way, homozygous typing cells do not define a single specificity, but rather the presence of two B-lymphocyte specificities, even though their responses often reflect matching of only the second B-locus specificity.