Genome-wide association study identifies DRAM1 associated with Tourette syndrome in Taiwan

BACKGROUND

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by motor and vocal tics. Several susceptibility loci associated with TS have been identified previously in populations of European descent using genome-wide association studies (GWAS). However, the exact pathogenic mechanism underlying TS is unknown; additionally, the results of previous GWAS for TS were based on Western populations, which may not translate to other populations. Therefore, we conducted a GWAS in Taiwanese patients with TS and chronic tic disorders (CTDs), with an aim to elucidate the genetic basis and potential risk factors for TS in this population.

METHODS

GWAS was performed on a Taiwanese TS/CTDs cohort with a sample size of 1,007 patients with TS and 25,522 ancestry-matched controls. Additionally, polygenic risk score was calculated and assessed.

RESULTS

Genome-wide significant locus, rs12313062 (p=1.43 × 10-8) and other 9 single nucleotide polymorphisms, were identified in chromosomes 12q23.2, associated with DRAM1 and was a novel susceptibility locus identified in TS/CTDs group. DRAM1, a lysosomal transmembrane protein regulated by p53, modulates autophagy and apoptosis, with potential implications for neuropsychiatric conditions associated with autophagy disruption.

CONCLUSIONS

This study conducted the first GWAS for TS in a Taiwanese population, identifying a significant locus on chromosome 12q23.2 associated with DRAM1. These findings provide novel insights into the neurobiology of TS and potential directions for future research in this area.

Recognition of the HLA-C*07:359 allele in Taiwanese individuals

One nucleotide substitution in codon 264 of HLA-C*07:02:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-C*07:359.

Influences of Social-Psychological Constructs in Predicting Taiwanese Pro-Environmental Behaviors

A value-belief-norm (VBN) model for understanding the pro-environmental behaviors (PEB) of Taiwanese was developed. This formulated VBN model included personal values, openness to change, awareness of consequences, personal norms, social norms, and PEB. Ecological world view and ascription of responsibility were excluded to develop a tighter model. A total of 1079 completed questionnaires were collected and structural equation modelling was utilized, where standard estimates and coefficients of determination validated the formulated VBN model's effectiveness. Each construct served its role as the mediator between its distal variable and outcome variable, with a substantial level of predictive accuracy, and 74.3% of the variance in PEB was accounted for. Further findings found that mature individuals had a stronger tendency towards awareness of consequences due to personal values; the young had a stronger tendency towards personal norms due to awareness of consequences; men had a stronger tendency towards personal norms due to awareness of consequences; and women had a weaker tendency due to a greater emphasis on altruism. Future interventions, such as sharing of personal pro-environmental lifestyles verbally or through social media, periodically decluttering personal items and maintaining a minimalist lifestyle, where these personal norms are in line with collective social norms, could help to strengthen PEB.

Detection of the HLA-B*40:01:35 allele in a Taiwanese individual

Nucleotide substitutions in codons -1 and 84 of HLA-B*40:01:01 result in a novel allele, HLA-B*40:01:35.

Susceptibility to eye diseases in relation to age and kidney failure among Taiwanese adults

BACKGROUND

The kidney and eyes share common pathways and are thought to be closely connected. Chronic kidney disease and major eye diseases, such as cataract and glaucoma, are strongly associated with age. However, further investigation is needed to understand the joint impact of age and kidney diseases on eye diseases. In this study, we assessed the risk of eye diseases in relation to age and kidney failure in Taiwanese adults.

METHODS

Our study included 127,561 cancer-free volunteers aged 30 to 70 years who participated in the Taiwan Biobank (TWB) project from 2008 to 2020. Information on the main exposures (kidney failure and age) and the outcome (eye diseases, including glaucoma, cataract, xerophthalmia, and retinal detachment) was collected through questionnaires.

RESULTS

In general, kidney failure and older age were independently associated with a higher risk of eye, particularly cataract and retinal detachment: prevalence odds ratio (POR); 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.480; 1.635-3.761 for cataract and 3.885; 1.968-7.666 for retinal detachment. A significant interaction between kidney failure and age on cataract was observed (p-value = 0.0002). Age-stratified analysis revealed a higher risk of cataract among patients with kidney failure aged below 50 (POR = 6.534; 95% CI = 2.493-17.124) and between 50 and 60 years (POR = 3.957; 95%CI = 1.986-7.881). Combining kidney failure and age (reference: no kidney failure and age < 50 years), kidney failure in all age groups was associated with a higher risk of cataract. The PORs; 95% CIs were 10.725; 4.227-27.211 for patients below 50 years, 28.487; 14.270-56.866 for those aged 50-60 years, and 43.183; 24.434-72.824 for those > 60 years. Combining cataract and age (reference: no cataract and age < 50 years), patients below 50 years had the highest risk of kidney failure (POR; 95% CI = 9.510; 3.722-24.297).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study suggests that age and kidney failure may jointly contribute to eye diseases, particularly cataract. The association between cataract and kidney failure could be bidirectional, especially in individuals below 50 years. This significant bidirectional relationship underscores the need for screening patients with cataract for kidney failure and vice versa, particularly in younger adults.

Recognition of the HLA-B*15:01:17 allele in a Taiwanese individual

Nucleotide substitution in codon 129 of HLA-B*15:01:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-B*15:01:17.

Discovery of the novel HLA-C*03:649 allele in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution in codon 214 of HLA-C*03:04:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-C*03:649.

Recognition of the HLA-A*02:840 allele, a variant of A*02:07:01:01, in a Taiwanese individual

Two nucleotide substitutions in exon 3 of HLA-A*02:07:01:01 result in the novel allele, HLA-A*02:840.

Detection of the novel HLA-C*03:04:89, a variant of HLA-C*03:04:01:01, in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution in codon 131 of HLA-C*03:04:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-C*03:04:89.

Discovery of the novel HLA-DRB1*09:01:15 allele in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution in codon 217 of HLA-DRB1*09:01:02:01 results in a novel allele HLA-DRB1*09:01:15.

Associations between paraben exposure, thyroid capacity, homeostasis and pituitary thyrotropic function in the general Taiwanese: Taiwan Environmental Survey for Toxicants (TEST) 2013

Several studies have suggested that some endocrine disruptors such as synthetic phenols, parabens and phthalates may disrupt thyroid hormone signaling and associated negative feed-backs with the central hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis. Therefore, we investigated urinary paraben and blood thyroid hormone levels in the Taiwanese population. Our sample comprised 264 adults (aged 18-97 years) and 75 minors (aged 7-17 years) from Taiwan Environmental Survey for Toxicants 2013. Urinary levels of methylparaben (MeP), ethylparaben (EtP), propylparaben (PrP), and butylparaben (BuP) were assessed. Hormones of particular interest include: thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), triiodothyronine (T3), and thyroxine (T4). We sought integrated parameters to describe the transfer of thyroid hormones in homeostatic models. The geometric mean urinary paraben levels of the adults were higher than those of the minors (adults vs. minors; MeP: 383 vs. 62.4 ng/mL; PrP: 109 vs. 8.00 ng/mL; EtP: 39.5 vs. 2.38 ng/mL, and BuP: 6.36 vs. 2.13 ng/mL). In the male adults, we discovered that 0.253% (p = 0.032), 0.256% (p = 0.041) and 0.257% (p = 0.037) decreases in the TSH, TSH/T4 and TSH/FreeT4 ratio was associated with 1% EtP increases, respectively. In the female minors, 0.093% (p = 0.044), 0.072% (p = 0.047) and 0.156 (p = 0.004) increases in the TSH ratios were associated with a 1% MeP, EtP and BuP increase, respectively. Moreover, 0.151% (p = 0.008) and 0.177% (p = 0.001) increases in TSH/T4 and TSH/free T4 ratios were associated with a BuP 1% increase, respectively. Finally, EtP was positively associated with SPINA-GT (β: 15.66, p = 0.036) in the male adults. By contrast, EtP were positively associated with Jostel's TSH index and sTSHI (β: 0.072, p = 0.049; β: 0.107, p = 0.049) in the female minors. The Taiwanese population is commonly exposed to parabens, which can potentially lead to alteration of thyroid hormone homeostasis.

Measuring design thinking competence in Taiwanese nursing students: a cross-cultural instrument adaptation

BACKGROUND

Design thinking (DT) competence, a creative problem-solving ability, has been investigated extensively among college students in various professional fields within the western cultures. No instrument, however, is available for assessing DT competence in nursing students, particularly, those in non-western cultures.

OBJECTIVE

To adapt and validate the use of Creative Synthesis Inventory (CSI) assessing the four components (i.e., visualization, discovery, prototyping, and evaluation) of DT competence in nursing students in Taiwan.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional, mixed methodological design combining qualitative and quantitative strategies.

PARTICIPANTS

A 19-item CSI was administered to a total of 520 nursing students from two campuses of a science and technology university in Taiwan. The data collection was conducted between September 2020 and June 2022.

METHODS

The cross-cultural adaptation and validation of CSI-Taiwan was done in two phases: Phase I included content validity check, translation, and cross-cultural adaptation. Phase II involved pilot testing and psychometric evaluation.

RESULTS

A first-order confirmatory factor analysis validated the four-component structure, namely visualization, discovery, prototyping, and evaluation, of an 18-item CSI-Taiwan (model fit indices: χ2/df = 3.953, NNFI = 0.942, CFI = 0.956, TLI = 0.947, SRMR = 0.035, and RMSEA = 0.075). A second-order confirmatory factor analysis further indicated that the four components converged on a unitary construct of DT competence (model fit indices: χ2/df = 4.082, NNFI = 0.935, CFI = 0.949, TLI = 0.940, SRMR = 0.040, and RMSEA = 0.080). Moreover, the CSI-Taiwan also demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity. Together these results validated the construct of DT competence and its components as theorized.

CONCLUSIONS

The CSI-Taiwan was a reliable and valid self-report instrument to be used by Taiwanese nursing students.

Recognition of the HLA-A*02:570:01 allele in Taiwanese individuals

Two nucleotide substitutions in codon 24 of HLA-A*02:01:01:01 result in a novel allele HLA-A*02:570:01.

Discovery of the novel HLA-B*57:164 allele, a variant of HLA-B*57:01:01:01, in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution in codon 317 of HLA-B*57:01:01:01 results in the novel allele, HLA-B*57:164.

Discovery of the novel HLA-DRB1*04:358 allele, a variant of HLA-DRB1*04, in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution in codon 140 of HLA-DRB1*04:05:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-DRB1*04:358.

Detection of the HLA-DQB1*03:151 allele in a Taiwanese umbilical cord blood unit

One nucleotide substitution in codon 25 of HLA-DQB1*03:01:01:01 results in a novel allele HLA-DQB1*03:151.

Detection of the HLA-B*40:02:03 allele, a variant of HLA-B*40:02:01:01, in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution in codon 67 of HLA-B*40:02:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-B*40:02:03.

Recognition of the HLA-C*03:04:20 allele, a variant of HLA-C*03:04:01:01, in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution in codon 227 of HLA-C*03:04:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-C*03:04:20.

Genome-wide association study reveals ethnicity-specific SNPs associated with ankylosing spondylitis in the Taiwanese population

BACKGROUND

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is an autoimmune disease affecting mainly spine and sacroiliac joints and adjacent soft tissues. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) are used to evaluate genetic associations and to predict genetic risk factors that determine the biological basis of disease susceptibility. We aimed to explore the race-specific SNP susceptibility of AS in Taiwanese individuals and to investigate the association between HLA-B27 and AS susceptibility SNPs in Taiwan.

METHODS

Genotyping data were collected from a medical center participating in the Taiwan Precision Medicine Initiative (TPMI) in the northern district of Taiwan. We designed a case-control study to identify AS susceptibility SNPs through GWAS. We searched the genome browser to find the corresponding susceptibility genes and used the GTEx database to confirm the regulation of gene expression. A polygenic risk score approach was also applied to evaluate the genetic variants in the prediction of developing AS.

RESULTS

The results showed that the SNPs located on the sixth chromosome were related to higher susceptibility in the AS group. There was no overlap between our results and the susceptibility SNPs found in other races. The 12 tag SNPs located in the MHC region that were found through the linkage disequilibrium method had higher gene expression. Furthermore, Taiwanese people with HLA-B27 positivity had a higher proportion of minor alleles. This might be the reason that the AS prevalence is higher in Taiwan than in other countries. We developed AS polygenic risk score models with six different methods in which those with the top 10% polygenic risk had a fivefold increased risk of developing AS compared to the remaining group with low risk.

CONCLUSION

A total of 147 SNPs in the Taiwanese population were found to be statistically significantly associated with AS on the sixth pair of chromosomes and did not overlap with previously published sites in the GWAS Catalog. Whether those genes mapped by AS-associated SNPs are involved in AS and what the pathogenic mechanism of the mapped genes is remain to be further studied.

Cumulative risk assessment and exposure characteristics of parabens in the general Taiwanese using multiple hazard indices approaches

Parabens, a group of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), are well known preservatives in pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). However, studies on parabens exposure and their cumulative effects in Asian population are limited. This study aimed to identify the exposure characteristics and estimate the cumulative risk of four parabens in the general Taiwanese. We have collected urine samples including 271 adults (18-97 yrs old) and 95 minors (7-17 yrs old), from Taiwan Environmental Survey for Toxicants 2013, and analyzed for four urinary parabens including methyl (MeP)-, ethyl (EtP)-, propyl (PrP)-, and butylparaben (BuP) by using ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The health-based guidance value (HBGV) and the antiandrogenic properties of parabens were used to calculate the hazard index (HI) for cumulative risk. MeP and PrP were most abundant compounds and startlingly higher than those in other countries. Adults had a higher geometric mean level of four parabens than minors (adults: MeP, 381.7; PrP, 108.6; EtP, 39.6 and BuP 6.3 ng/mL; minors: MeP, 65.7; PrP, 7.9, EtP, 2.6 and BuP 2.2 ng/mL). Participants who used a higher number of personal care products had a significantly higher risk with higher concentrations of PrP (above 75th %tile) [adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 1.79, 95 % CI: 1.01-3.15] and BuP [aOR: 1.78, 95 % CI: 1.03-3.07]. The median and 95th %tile HI (the sum of the HQs of each paraben) was as 1.10 and 4.39-fold higher than acceptable cumulative threshold (HI <1) and PrP accounted for 90 % of the HI. Our results indicate omnipresent exposure to parabens among the Taiwanese population, which might cause certain level of concerns. These significant increasing trends of HI with age dependence were observed, which mainly driven by PPCPS used. Routine survey of parabens in PPCPs and continued biomonitoring needs to be urgently addressed.

Correlates of Taiwanese Gay and Bisexual Men's Family-Building Preferences: A Mediation Analysis

This study investigated the role of filial piety, internalized homophobia, and desire for genetic relatedness with one's child in gay and bisexual men's family-building choice. A sample of 1,023 Taiwanese gay and bisexual men with a desire to have a child was recruited to complete an online survey that included the Contemporary Filial Piety Scale, the Chinese Internalized Homophobia Scale, and questions about desire for genetic relatedness with a child and acceptance of adoption and surrogacy. Mediation models, with desire for genetic relatedness as a mediator, were tested. The results show that those who chose surrogacy-only were older and had higher socio-economic status than those who selected adoption-only and both options. Filial piety and internalized homophobia were positively associated with the acceptance of surrogacy-only over adoption-only and both options. Desire for genetic relatedness mediated these relationships. This finding elucidates how sociocultural factors shape family-building preferences among gay and bisexual men.

HLA-A*24:244, a variant of HLA-A*24:02:01:01, detected in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution in codon 51 of HLA-A*24:02:01:01 results in the novel allele, HLA-A*24:244.

Recognition of the HLA-A*02:07:19 allele, a variant of HLA-A*02:07:01:01, in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution at codon 310 of HLA-A*02:07:01:01 results in the novel allele, HLA*02*07:19.

Detection of the HLA-A*02:759 allele, a variant of A*02:06:01:01, in a Taiwanese individual

A nucleotide mutation in exon 1 of HLA-A*02:06:01:01 results in the novel allele, HLA-A*02:759.

Discovery of the novel HLA-B*13:173 allele in a Taiwanese individual

A nucleotide mutation in exon 1 of HLA-B*13:01:01:01 results in the novel allele HLA-B*13:173. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Worsening Quality of Life in Young Adult, Highly Educated, and Married Female Patients with Vitiligo: A Hospital-Based Case Control Study in Taiwan

Vitiligo is an acquired chronic depigmentation disorder that can have a negative impact on the quality of life (QoL). This is especially true for patients with non-white skin. Only few studies have investigated the QoL of Asian patients with vitiligo. We aimed to investigate the QoL in Taiwanese vitiligo patients and identify the factors that influence their QoL. The cross-sectional study recruited 100 vitiligo patients and 100 controls with general skin diseases in the Department of Dermatology of Changhua Christian Hospital. Data were obtained using a structured questionnaire for demographic information and modified Skindex-21 instruments. The QoL was not significantly different between vitiligo patients and controls. Among the vitiligo patients, adults exhibited deteriorated emotional levels and total QoL as compared with non-adults. Married females reported greater levels of emotional disturbance than the unmarried ones. A higher educational level and shorter history of disease were associated with greater emotional impacts. The patients with a generalized type of vitiligo suffered more in total QoL. After multivariate adjustment, the young adult patients aged 20–39 were associated with poorer total QoL. It is suggested that vitiligo patients who are aged between 20 and 39, are married females, are highly educated, have a shorter disease history, and suffer from the generalized type of this disease demonstrate more deterioration in their life quality compared with other vitiligo patients. Care providers should tailor the psychological counseling and treatment accordingly.

Discovery of the novel HLA-C*08:03:05 allele in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution in codon 182 of HLA-C*08:03:01:01 results in a novel allele HLA-C*08:03:05. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Discovery of the novel HLA-DRB1*07:136 allele in a Taiwanese patient

One nucleotide substitution in codon 107 of HLA-DRB1*07:01:01:01 results in a novel allele HLA-DRB1*07:136. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Discovery of the novel HLA-DRB1*08:113 allele in a Taiwanese bone marrow donor

Nucleotide substitutions in exon 2 of DRB1*08:34 result in the novel DRB1*08:113 allele. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Reliability and validity of the traditional Chinese version of the GAD-7 in Taiwanese patients with epilepsy

BACKGROUND

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is the second most common psychiatric comorbidity of epilepsy. GAD has a negative impact on seizure control, and it is underrecognized. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) questionnaire is useful for screening GAD in patients with epilepsy (PWE). This study aimed to validate the traditional Chinese version of the GAD-7 for Taiwanese patients by obtaining data on adult PWE from our hospital.

METHOD

PWE were recruited from the Taipei Veterans General Hospital from April 2017 to January 2020. The mood disorder module of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) was used for the psychiatric assessment. The traditional Chinese version of the GAD-7 and the Beck Anxiety Inventory were included as self-rated psychiatric evaluation. To investigate the psychometric properties, internal consistency, external validation, and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were conducted to assess the utility of the Taiwanese version of the GAD-7.

RESULTS

We recruited 109 patients in the present study. Seventeen patients (15.9%) had GAD according to the MINI. The mean GAD-7 score was 10.28 ± 10.68. All the GAD-7 items were significantly and positively associated with the corrected overall GAD-7 score (Cronbach's alpha = 0.928, p < 0.0001). The cut-off point for the GAD-7 in ROC curve analysis was 7. The patients with GAD were more likely to be female and single.

CONCLUSION

The traditional Chinese version of the GAD-7 is a reliable and valid self-report questionnaire for detecting GAD in Taiwanese PWE.

Discovery of the novel HLA-C*08:22:02 allele in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution in codon 182 of HLA-C*08:22:01:01 results in a novel allele HLA-C*08:22:02.

HLA-A*26:35, a variant of HLA-A*26, detected in a Taiwanese individual

Nucleotide substitutions in codons 11 and 12 of HLA-A*26:01:01:01 result in a novel allele, HLA-A*26:35.

Detection of an HLA-A*02 variant, HLA-A*02:99:01, in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution in codon 152 of HLA-A*02:06:01:01 results in a novel allele HLA-A*02:99:01. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

HLA-B*40:36, a variant of HLA-B*40, recognized in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution in codon 116 of HLA-B*40:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-B*40:36. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Decreased psoas muscle area is a prognosticator for 90-day and 1-year survival in patients undergoing surgical treatment for spinal metastasis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Survival estimation for patients with spinal metastasis is crucial to treatment decisions. Psoas muscle area (PMA), a surrogate for total muscle mass, has been proposed as a useful survival prognosticator. However, few studies have validated the predictive value of decreased PMA in an Asian cohort or its predictive value after controlling for existing preoperative scoring systems (PSSs). In this study, we aim to answer: (1) Is PMA associated with survival in Han Chinese patients with spinal metastasis? (2) Is PMA a good prognosticator according to concordance index (c-index) and decision curve analysis (DCA) after controlling for six existing and commonly used PSSs?

METHODS

This study included 180 adult (≥18 years old) Taiwanese patients with a mean age of 58.3 years (range: 22-85) undergoing surgical treatment for spinal metastasis. A patient's PMA was classified into decreased, medium, and large if it fell into the lower (0-33%), middle (33-67%), and upper (67-100%) 1/3 in the study cohort, respectively. We used logistic and cox proportional-hazard regressions to assess whether PMA was associated with 90-day, 1-year, and overall survival. The model performance before and after addition of PMA to six commonly used PSSs, including Tomita score, original Tokuhashi score, revised Tokuhashi score, modified Bauer score, New England Spinal Metastasis Score, and Skeletal Oncology Research Group machine learning algorithms (SORG-MLAs), was compared by c-index and DCA to determine if PMA was a useful survival prognosticator.

RESULTS

Patients with a larger PMA is associated with better 90-day, but not 1-year, survival. The model performance of 90-day survival prediction improved after PMA was incorporated into all PSSs except SORG-MLAs. PMA barely improved the discriminatory ability (c-index, 0.74; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.67-0.82 vs. c-index, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.66-0.81) and provided little gain of clinical net benefit on DCA for SORG-MLAs' 90-day survival prediction.

CONCLUSIONS

PMA is a prognosticator for 90-day survival and improves the discriminatory ability of earlier-proposed PSSs in our Asian cohort. However, incorporating PMA into more modern PSSs such as SORG-MLAs did not significantly improve its prediction performance.

Discovery of the novel HLA-A*11:417 N allele in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide deletion at position 61 of HLA-A*11:01:01:01 results in the novel allele HLA-A*11:417 N. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

HLA-A*32:34, a variant of HLA-A*32, detected in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution in codon 128 of HLA-A*32:01:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-A*32:34. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Detection of an HLA-A*24 variant, HLA-A*24:255, in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution in codon 82 of HLA-A*24:02:01:01 results in a novel allele HLA-A*24:255. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Discovery of the novel HLA-B*40:483N Allele in a Taiwanese individual

Nucleotide mutations in exons 1 and 4 of HLA-B*40:01:01 result in the novel allele HLA-B*40:483N.

Detection of the novel HLA-B*55:123 allele in a Taiwanese bone marrow donor

One nucleotide substitution in exon 3 of HLA-B*55:02:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-B*55:123. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

A single nucleotide mutation in exon 3 produces the novel HLA-DPB1*700:01N allele

A nucleotide mutation in codon 135 of HLA-DPB1*02:01:02:01 results in the novel allele HLA-DPB1*700:01N.

Detection of the HLA-B*15:360 allele in a Taiwanese bone marrow donor

Four nucleotide substitutions in exon 3 of HLA-B*15:01:01:01 result in a novel allele, HLA-B*15:360.

Two probable human leukocyte antigen haplotypes in association with human leukocyte antigen HLA-DRB1*13:50:01 identified in 41 randomized unrelated Taiwanese individuals

Objectives:

Here, we show two probable haplotypes associated with the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) DRB1*13:50:01 allele. The haplotypes were observed from 41 randomized unrelated Taiwanese individuals among a population of 23,064 individuals tested.

Materials and Methods:

The samples in this study were blood samples, preserved in dipotassium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and/or ACD anticoagulants. The population is of donors from Tzu Chi Bone Marrow Donor Registry. Allele typing was performed using the sequence-based typing method, Sanger's sequencing. To discern the HLA-A and HLA-B alleles, exons 2 and 3 were sequenced. For DRB1 alleles, exon 2 was sequenced. Target exon sequence amplifications were done by a polymerase chain reaction and the resulting amplicons were sequenced by Bigdye Terminator Cycle Sequencing Ready Reaction kit, according to the manufacturer's protocols.

Results:

Two probable haplotypes that are associated with the DRB1*13:50:01 were observed among the 23,064 Taiwanese randomized unrelated individuals. One of the haplotypes is observed in 39 individuals while the other in two individuals.

Conclusion:

The findings in this study may be useful in studies reinforcing the understanding and clinical application of the polymorphism of HLA genes and haplotypes.

Detection of the HLA-A*02:56:02 allele in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution in codon 56 of HLA-A*02:56:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-A*02:56:02.

Recognition of the HLA-B*39:36 allele in a Taiwanese bone marrow donor

Four nucleotide substitutions in exon 3 of HLA-B*39:01:01:01 result in a novel allele, HLA-B*39:36.

Recognition of the HLA-A*11:85 allele in a Taiwanese bone marrow donor

One nucleotide substitution in codon 47 of HLA-A*11:01:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-A*11:85.

A single nucleotide mutation in exon 2 produces a novel HLA-DRB1*07 null allele, HLA-DRB1*07:129N

A nucleotide mutation in codon 34 of HLA-DRB1*07:01:01:01 results in a novel allele HLA-DRB1*07:129N.

HLA-A*02:294, a variant of HLA-A*02:01:01:01, detected in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution in codon 253 of HLA-A*02:01:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-A*02:294.

Detection of the HLA-A*11:32:01 allele in a Taiwanese bone marrow donor

One nucleotide substitution in codon 182 of HLA-A*11:01:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-A*11:32:01.

Recognition of the HLA-B*51:185 allele in a Taiwanese individual

One nucleotide substitution in codon 77 of HLA-B*51:01:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA-B*51:185.