Nomenclature for Factors of the HLA System, Update March 2006

Characterization of a new HLA-B allele, B*15:179:02

A novel HLA-B allele, B*15:179:02, has been identified during typing of donors in Anhui province, China.

Novel human leukocyte antigen class I and class II alleles identified by sequence-based typing in the Genetics of Kidneys in Diabetes (GoKinD) study population

Nine novel HLA class I and class II alleles were identified by sequence-based typing (SBT) in Caucasian participants from the Genetics of Kidneys in Diabetes (GoKinD) study. All novel alleles were single nucleotide substitutions. Seven alleles resulted in an amino acid change and two alleles were silent substitutions. The new alleles are as follows: five HLA-A alleles (*0132, *020121, *0344, *030107, *2507), one HLA-C allele (*0619), two HLA-DQB1 alleles (*0204, *0318), and one HLA-DPB1 allele (*1802). Eight of these new alleles were identified in participants with type 1 diabetes, three of whom also had diabetic nephropathy, and one new allele was identified in an unaffected parent of a participant with type 1 diabetes. All new alleles were isolated and characterized by use of single allele amplification (SAA) SBT; the new alleles were confirmed by sequence-specific primer (SSP) amplification.

High-resolution HLA alleles and haplotypes in the United States population

We extract and present high-resolution HLA allele and haplotype frequency data available from the National Marrow Donor Program databases from four major U.S. census categories of race and ethnicity. Population-based high-resolution HLA frequencies defined on the basis of from one to five loci are presented and made available online (http://bioinformatics.nmdp.org/haplotype2006). In addition, a discriminatory classification of HLA allelic variation on the basis of observed population allele frequencies (common, rare and unseen) for HLA A, C, B, DRB1, DQA1, and DQB1 is introduced. The electronic availability of this information will be useful for projects central to the typing and use of population data in HLA applications.