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Marin Rubio LA, Aroca-Aguilar JD, Luis-Hidalgo M, Escribano J, Ontañon J. RNA and protein expression analysis of HLA-DQB1*03:01:01:21Q allele: A null allele renamed as HLA-DQB1*03:01:01:21N. HLA 2022; 99:160-166. [PMID: 34997833 DOI: 10.1111/tan.14537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The characterization of the expression profile of HLA questionable alleles (Q) is clinically relevant in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSTC) because an aberrant expression of these alleles could lead to transplantation-related complications. HLA-DQB1*03:01:01:21Q shows a substitution at the donor splice site of intron 3 that potentially could affect the expression of this allele. In order to determine their expression profile at RNA and protein level, we analyzed the presence of the HLA-DQ7 molecule by complement-dependent cytotoxicity test (CDC) and flow cytometry, and their RNA processing by cDNA analyses and sequencing by Sanger methods. Our results reveal that HLA-DQ7 is not detectable by serological methods, this is confirmed by cDNA methods demonstrating the absence of specific HLA-DQB1*03:01:01:21Q mRNA, probably due to an intron 3 retention that creates a premature TGA stop codon, leading to mRNA degradation via nonsense-mediated decay (NMD). These findings demonstrate that the HLA-DQB1*03:01:01:21Q allele is nonexpressed, thus it has been renamed as DQB1*03:01:01:21N.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Alberto Marin Rubio
- Immunology Unit, Clinical Analysis Department, Albacete University Hospital Complex, Albacete, Spain
| | - Jose Daniel Aroca-Aguilar
- Área de Genética, Facultad de Medicina de Albacete/Instituto de Investigación en Discapacidades Neurológicas (IDINE), Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - Mar Luis-Hidalgo
- Histocompatibilidad, Centro de Transfusión de la Comunidad Valenciana, Valencia, Spain
| | - Julio Escribano
- Área de Genética, Facultad de Medicina de Albacete/Instituto de Investigación en Discapacidades Neurológicas (IDINE), Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
| | - Jesus Ontañon
- Immunology Unit, Clinical Analysis Department, Albacete University Hospital Complex, Albacete, Spain
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Fusco C, Cervelli C, Dal Mas A, Canossi A, Azzarone R, Valdez O, Auriemma L, Madalese D, Maisto G, Toriello M, Penta de Vera d'Aragona R, Scimitarra M, Scarnecchia MA, Battistoni C, Fracassi D, Papola F. Expression profile of HLA-B*38:55Q allele. HLA 2020; 95:449-456. [PMID: 31891446 DOI: 10.1111/tan.13790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2019] [Revised: 11/24/2019] [Accepted: 12/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The identification of null or questionably expressed HLA allelic variants is a major issue in HLA diagnostics, because the mistyping of the aberrant expression of such alleles can have a major impact on the outcome of both hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and solid organ transplants. It is debated how questionable (Q) alleles, because of their unknown expression profile, should be considered in an allogenic HSCT setting. The HLA-B*38:55Q allele was detected as an HLA-B blank specificity; DNA sequencing identified a single polymorphism at position 373 in exon 3 (TGC > CGC), which results in the replacement of cysteine 101 with an arginine in the HLA-B heavy chain, thus, impairing disulfide bridge formation in the alpha-2 domain, essential for the normal expression of the HLA molecules. In order to determine the RNA and protein expression profile of this allelic variant, we analyzed antigenic expression at different levels, transcriptional and transductional, using a combination of cellular methods, such as serological testing and flow cytometric analysis, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) sequence-specific primer (SSP) cDNA group-specific amplification and immunocytochemical assay, demonstrating the prevalent cytoplasmatic distribution of the HLA-B*38:55Q protein. Our findings suggest that in matching process the HLA-B*38:55Q allele needs to be considered as a low expressed allele, able to elicit an allogenic T-cell response in vivo and impair the transplant outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caterina Fusco
- SSD Cryopreservation and Ba.S.C.O, Oncohaematology Department, A.O.R.N. Santobono-Pausilipon of Napoli, Naples, Italy
| | - Carla Cervelli
- Regional Centre of Immunohaematology and Tissue Typing, S.Salvatore Hospital of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Antonella Dal Mas
- UOC Pathological Anatomy, S.Salvatore Hospital of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Angelica Canossi
- CNR Institute of Translational Pharmacology, L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Raffaella Azzarone
- Regional Centre of Immunohaematology and Tissue Typing, S.Salvatore Hospital of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Olaida Valdez
- Regional Centre of Immunohaematology and Tissue Typing, S.Salvatore Hospital of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Laura Auriemma
- SSD Cryopreservation and Ba.S.C.O, Oncohaematology Department, A.O.R.N. Santobono-Pausilipon of Napoli, Naples, Italy
| | - Donato Madalese
- SSD Cryopreservation and Ba.S.C.O, Oncohaematology Department, A.O.R.N. Santobono-Pausilipon of Napoli, Naples, Italy
| | - Giovanna Maisto
- SSD Cryopreservation and Ba.S.C.O, Oncohaematology Department, A.O.R.N. Santobono-Pausilipon of Napoli, Naples, Italy
| | - Mario Toriello
- SSD Cryopreservation and Ba.S.C.O, Oncohaematology Department, A.O.R.N. Santobono-Pausilipon of Napoli, Naples, Italy
| | | | - Maria Scimitarra
- Regional Centre of Immunohaematology and Tissue Typing, S.Salvatore Hospital of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Maria A Scarnecchia
- Regional Centre of Immunohaematology and Tissue Typing, S.Salvatore Hospital of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Carla Battistoni
- Regional Centre of Immunohaematology and Tissue Typing, S.Salvatore Hospital of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Daniela Fracassi
- Regional Centre of Immunohaematology and Tissue Typing, S.Salvatore Hospital of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Franco Papola
- Regional Centre of Immunohaematology and Tissue Typing, S.Salvatore Hospital of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
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Using Nanopore Whole-Transcriptome Sequencing for Human Leukocyte Antigen Genotyping and Correlating Donor Human Leukocyte Antigen Expression with Flow Cytometric Crossmatch Results. J Mol Diagn 2020; 22:101-110. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jmoldx.2019.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2019] [Revised: 08/27/2019] [Accepted: 09/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
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Integrate CRISPR/Cas9 for protein expression of HLA-B*38:68Q via precise gene editing. Sci Rep 2019; 9:8067. [PMID: 31147565 PMCID: PMC6542842 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-44336-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2018] [Accepted: 05/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The determination of null- or low-expressed HLA alleles is clinically relevant in both hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and solid organ transplantation. We studied the expression level of a questionable (Q) HLA-B*38:68Q allele, which carries a 9-nucleotide (nt) deletion at codon 230–232 in exon 4 of HLA-B*38:01:01:01 using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology. CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing of HLA-B*38:01:01:01 homozygous EBV B cell line resulted in one HLA-B*38:68Q/B*38:01:01:01 heterozygous and one HLA-B*38:68Q homozygous clone. Flow cytometric analysis of monoclonal anti-Bw4 antibody showed the protein expression of HLA-B*38:01:01:01 in homozygous cells was 2.2 fold higher than HLA-B*38:68Q/B*38:01:01:01 heterozygous cells, and the expression of HLA-B*38:68Q/B*38:01:01:01 heterozygous cells was over 2.0 fold higher than HLA-B*38:68Q homozygous cells. The HLA-B*38:68Q expression was further confirmed using anti-B38 polyclonal antibody. Similarly, the expression of the HLA-B*38:01:01:01 homozygous cells was 1.5 fold higher than that of HLA-B*38:68Q/B*38:01:01:01 heterozygous cells, and the HLA-B*38:68Q/B*38:01:01:01 heterozygous cells was over 1.6 fold higher than that of HLA-B*38:68Q homozygous cells. The treatment of HLA-B*38:68Q homozygous cells with IFN-γ significantly increased its expression. In conclusion, we demonstrate that HLA-B*38:68Q is a low-expressing HLA allele. The CRISPR/Cas9 technology is a useful tool to induce precise gene editing in HLA genes to enable the characterization of HLA gene variants on expression and function.
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Balas A, García-Sánchez F, Vicario JL. RNA processing and protein expression of HLA-B*07:44N. HLA 2017; 89:230-234. [PMID: 28205408 DOI: 10.1111/tan.12983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2016] [Revised: 01/17/2017] [Accepted: 01/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The assignment of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) null alleles is clinically relevant in the setting of stem cell transplantation. Cell surface expression profiling and mRNA processing analysis of the HLA-B allele previously designated as B*07:44, have been performed. MATERIALS AND METHODS Cell surface expression of HLA-B*07:44 was determined using flow cytometry. Genomic full-length and HLA-B*07-specific cDNA sequencing were carried out by Sanger procedure. RESULTS Flow cytometric analysis confirmed previous serologic results and demonstrated a lack of cell membrane expression of the HLA-B protein. The mRNA processing, studied using direct HLA-B*07-specific cDNA sequencing, revealed the presence of a unique, aberrantly spliced mRNA, with a deletion of the last 43 bp on the 5'-end of exon 4. The substitution from T to G at genomic position 1799 compared to B*07:02:01 introduced a new and stronger splice donor site at exon 4. This alternative splicing produced an mRNA containing a premature stop codon at position 280, explaining the absence of mature HLA-B7 protein on the cell surface. CONCLUSION These findings led us to consider this HLA-B variant as a HLA null allele. The World Health Organization (WHO) Nomenclature Committee has since renamed this variant B*07:44N .
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Affiliation(s)
- A Balas
- Departamento de Histocompatibilidad, Centro de Transfusión de la Comunidad de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - F García-Sánchez
- Departamento de Histocompatibilidad, Centro de Transfusión de la Comunidad de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - J L Vicario
- Departamento de Histocompatibilidad, Centro de Transfusión de la Comunidad de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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Voorter CEM, Gerritsen KEH, Groeneweg M, Wieten L, Tilanus MGJ. The role of gene polymorphism in HLA class I splicing. Int J Immunogenet 2016; 43:65-78. [PMID: 26920492 DOI: 10.1111/iji.12256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2015] [Revised: 01/28/2016] [Accepted: 02/04/2016] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Among the large number of human leucocyte antigen (HLA) alleles, only a few have been identified with a nucleotide polymorphism impairing correct splicing. Those alleles show aberrant expression levels, due to either a direct effect of the polymorphism on the normal splice site or to the creation of an alternative splice site. Furthermore, in several studies, the presence of alternatively spliced HLA transcripts co-expressed with the mature spliced transcripts was reported. We evaluated the splice site sequences of all known HLA class I alleles and found that, beside the consensus GT and AG sequences at the intron borders, there were some other highly conserved nucleotides for the different class I genes. In this review, we summarize the splicing mechanism and evaluate what is known today about alternative splicing of HLA class I genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- C E M Voorter
- Department of Transplantation Immunology, Tissue Typing Laboratory, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - K E H Gerritsen
- Department of Transplantation Immunology, Tissue Typing Laboratory, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - M Groeneweg
- Department of Transplantation Immunology, Tissue Typing Laboratory, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - L Wieten
- Department of Transplantation Immunology, Tissue Typing Laboratory, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - M G J Tilanus
- Department of Transplantation Immunology, Tissue Typing Laboratory, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, the Netherlands
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Marsh SGE. Nomenclature for factors of the HLA system, update February 2015. Int J Immunogenet 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/iji.12204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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