Kuo‑Liang Yanga,b*, Zheng‑Zhong Zhengc
aLaboratory of Immunogenetics, Tzu Chi Cord Blood Bank and Buddhist Tzu Chi Marrow Donor Registry, Buddhist Tzu Chi Stem Cells Centre, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Hualien, Taiwan, bDepartment of Laboratory Medicine and Biotechnology, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan, cDepartment of Research, China Shanghai Tissuebank Diagnostics, Shanghai, China
Open Access funded by Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation
Abstract
Objective: HLA‑C*15:29 is a low‑frequency allele in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA)‑C locus. The aim of this study is to confirm the ethnicity of C*15:29 and to deduce a probable HLA haplotype in association with C*15:29 in Taiwanese population. Materials and Methods: A total of 12,534 healthy unrelated Taiwanese individuals were tested for HLA using a sequence‑based typing method. The DNA material was subjected to HLA genotyping for the HLA‑A, HLA‑B, HLA‑C, HLA‑DRB1, and HLA‑DQB1 loci using a commercial polymerase chain reaction–sequencing‑based typing kit as per the manufacturer’s protocols. Results: The DNA sequence of C*15:29 is identical to C*15:02:01:01 in exons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 except for residues 420 and 1034 where A and G of C*15:02:01:01 are substituted by C and A in C*15:29, respectively. The nucleotide substitutions introduce two amino acid replacements at residues 116 and 321 where leucine (L) and cysteine (C) of C*15:02:01:01 are replaced by phenylalanine (F) and tyrosine (Y) in C*15:29, respectively. A probable HLA haplotype associated with C*15:29 in Taiwanese was deduced as A*29:01‑B*07:05‑C*15:29‑DRB1*10:01‑DQB1*05:01. The frequency of C*15:29 is estimated at about 0.064%. Conclusion: Information on the ethnicity and distribution of C*15:29 and its deduced probable HLA haplotype is of value for HLA testing laboratories for reference purposes and can help bone marrow donor registries find compatible donors for patients with this uncommon HLA allele.
Keywords: Haplotype, Human leukocyte antigen, HLA‑C*15:29, Taiwanese, Transplantation
