This has clinical relevance as it is agreed upon that prior to starting a medication such as allopurinol in a patient of Chinese descent, HLA-B*58:01 testing should be considered.Based on the Asian findings, similar studies in Europe showed 61% of allopurinol-induced SJS/TEN patients carried the HLA-B58 (phenotype frequency of the B*5801 allele in Europeans is typically 3%). One study concluded: "Even when HLA-B alleles behave as strong risk factors, as for allopurinol, they are neither sufficient nor necessary to explain the disease. "Other HLA associations with the development of SJS, SJS/TEN, or TEN and the intake of specific drugs as determined in certain populations are given in HLA associations with SCARs. T-cell receptors
In addition to acting through HLA proteins to bind with a T-cell receptor, a drug or its metabolite may bypass HLA proteins to bind directly to a T-cell receptor and thereby stimulate CD8+ T or CD4+ T cells to initiate autoimmune responses. In either case, this binding appears to develop only on certain T cell receptors. Since the genes for these receptors are highly edited, i.e. altered to encode proteins with different amino acid sequences, and since the human population may express more than 100 trillion different (i.e. different amino acid sequences) T-cell receptors while an individual express only a fraction of these, a drugs or its metabolites ability to induce the DRESS syndrome by interacting with a T cell receptor is limited to those individuals whose T cells express a T cell receptor(s) that can interact with the drug or its metabolite.
Other breeds with a possible genetic tendency toward malignant histiocytosis include Rottweilers, Flat-Coated Retrievers, and Golden Retrievers. Signs and symptoms
The disease in the lungs is characterized by enlargement of the tracheobronchial lymph nodes and infiltration of the lungs, sometimes leading to lung lobe consolidation and pleural effusion. Signs and symptoms include cough, loss of appetite, weight loss, anemia, and difficulty breathing. Seizures and rear limb weakness can be seen. Invasion of the bone marrow can cause pancytopenia. Diagnosis requires a biopsy. Treatment
Treatment with chemotherapy has been used with some success, particularly using lomustine, prednisone, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide. Because of the rapid progression of this aggressive disease, the prognosis is very poor. Other histiocytic diseases in Bernese Mountain Dogs
A similar disease is diffuse histiocytic sarcoma, a term used to designate a localized histiocytic sarcoma that has spread throughout the body. Other signs and symptoms include weight loss and loss of appetite. See also
Histiocytosis

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