Nomenclature for factors of the HLA system, update September 2005

Recognition of HLA-C*03:04:04 in four Taiwanese individuals and one Vietnamese cord blood unit

One nucleotide substitution at codon 64 of HLA-C*03:04:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-C*03:04:04.

Identification of HLA-A*02-B*46 haplotype allele variant in Guangdong Han populations on the basis of PCR-SBT

Background

The HLA-A*02-B*46 haplotype is one of most frequent haplotypes among Guangdong Han populations. To explore the characteristics of the HLA-A*02-B*46 haplotype in Guangdong Han populations, the genetic polymorphism of HLA-A*02-B*46 haplotype was analysed by PCR-SBT in our study.

Findings

Among 88 samples with the homozygotes for HLA-A*02-B*46 in the low resolution, 4 different alleles for A*02 (A*0201, A*0203, A*0206, A*0207) and 1 allele for B*46 (B*4601) were identified by PCR-SBT. Among them, the A*0207 allele was the predominant allele. Inversely, among the samples with HLA-A*2-B*46(-), six alleles were detected for A*02 (A*020101, A*0203, A*0205, A*0206 and A*0207), and the A*0201 allele was predominant. On the other hand, the HLA-A*02-B*46 haplotype presented moderate heterozygosis (32.95%). In addition, the linkage with DRB1 was analysed in HLA-A*2-B*46 haplotype, and there existed 10 alleles with DRB1. With the low resolution for DRB1, the other 10 DRB1 alleles all linked with the HLA-A*02-B*46 haplotype except for DRB1*01, DRB1*10, and DRB1*17. Moreover, we found eight alleles of DRB1 in the HLA-A*0207-B*4601 haplotype.

Conclusion

The polymorphism distribution of the A*02 allele between the HLA-A*02-B*46 and HLA-A*02-B*46(-) haplotypes among the Guangdong Han populations provides useful information for research on unrelated hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (UHSCT), anthropology, and disease association for populations with the HLA-A*02-B*46 haplotype.

Preliminary analysis of a KIR haplotype estimation algorithm: a simulation study

The analysis of Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) in terms of haplotypes have only been done through genotyping numerous and selected families. Consequently and schematically, KIR haplotypes have been roughly described by two groups (A and B) based on their gene contents. No further KIR adapted methods have been applied to the estimation of haplotype frequencies using unrelated data. We propose here a maximum likelihood (ML) estimation of KIR haplotype frequencies. ML estimation was developed as an extension of those successfully applied to human leukocyte antigen (HLA) data including the handling of missing values and HLA nomenclature. It has been implemented using an adapted Expectation Masimisation algorithm. KIR types on 11 loci in more than 40 Irish families were used to validate the method in a simulation study. Estimated haplotype frequencies are compared to the phase known. Various allele or gene frequency estimation methods were also compared. We demonstrated the interest and reliability of the haplotype method and underline the effect of the sample size on the quality of the estimation. The ML haplotype method also provides by collapsing more accurate estimation of allele or gene frequencies in population. Such an algorithm opens new perspectives in the analysis of KIR genotypes. Large sample size studies are required using phase-known data and/or simulations. It would allow a genotype-based approach to explore the KIR gene haplotype diversity. The haplotype frequencies may be used to compare populations.

The IMGT/HLA database

The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) complex is located within the 6p21.3 region on the short arm of human chromosome 6 and contains more than 220 genes of diverse function. Many of the genes encode proteins of the immune system and include many highly polymorphic HLA genes. The naming of new HLA genes and allele sequences and their quality control is the responsibility of the WHO Nomenclature Committee for Factors of the HLA System. The IMGT/HLA Database acts as the repository for these sequences and is recognized as the primary source of up-to-date and accurate HLA sequences. The IMGT/HLA website provides a number of tools for accessing the database: these include allele reports, sequence alignments, and sequence similarity searches. The website is updated every 3 months with all the new and confirmatory sequences submitted to the WHO Nomenclature Committee. Submission of HLA sequences to the committee is possible through the tools provided by the IMGT/HLA Database.