HLA class I genotyping by cDNA sequence of a Vietnamese family expressing a weak B46 antigen

Identification of a novel HLA-C allele, Cw*0406, in a Singapore Malay

A novel allele, C*0406, has been identified and is characterised by a single nucleotide substitution at position 196 of exon 3 when compared with its closest related allele, C*0403. The latter is found in 4/69 Chinese and 7/80 Malays while Cw*0406 was found in only one Malay individual within the study populations. The data suggest that Cw*0406 may have arisen as a relatively recent genetic event either by gene conversion or as a simple point mutation variant of Cw*0403.

Clarification of HLA-B serologically ambiguous types by automated DNA sequencing

Assignment of HLA-B types can be hampered by ambiguous reactivity of the typing sera resulting in inaccurate HLA-B assignments. In this study, 19 Korean samples exhibiting ambiguous serologic reactivities were characterized by DNA sequencing. Alleles identified from 7 samples were previously undetected in this population (B*1517, B*4101, B*4701, B*5001, and B*5106) and from 9 samples were common alleles in this population (B*4002, B*4003, B*4006, B*1501, B*1401, B*67012, and B*5401). Three samples were putative HLA-B homozygotes. Three major factors causing serologic ambiguity were identified: weak or false negative reactivity of typing sera (52.4%); cross or false positive reactivity of the sera (38.1%); and absence of information on the reaction patterns due to the lack of appropriate sera in the typing kit (e.g. B*4101 encoded molecule) or to the presence of recently characterized molecules (e.g. B*5106 encoded molecule) (9.5%). Overall, sequencing was helpful in clarifying ambiguous serologic reaction patterns improving the HLA typing for the Korean population.