HLA-DRB1 and rheumatoid arthritis: DRB1*01:01, DRB1*04:01 and DRB1*04:04 HLA alleles are known to be associated with rheumatoid arthritis, haemolytic transfusion reactions, psoriasis vulgaris, recurrent respiratory papillomatosis and rheumatoid vasculitis autoimmune diseases (Carcassi et al., 1999; Bonagura et al., 2004; Gorman et al., 2004; Cardoso et al., 2005; Kapitany et al., 2005; Reviron et al., 2005).