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Incidence of Wr a antigen and anti‐Wr a in a Spanish population
Author(s) -
Arriaga Francisco,
Llopis Francisco,
De La Rubia Javier,
Carpio Nelly,
Moscardó Jesús,
Marty María L.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
transfusion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.045
H-Index - 132
eISSN - 1537-2995
pISSN - 0041-1132
DOI - 10.1111/j.1537-2995.2005.00196.x
Subject(s) - incidence (geometry) , antigen , population , medicine , physics , immunology , environmental health , optics
BACKGROUND: This study reports the incidence of Wr a antigen and anti‐Wr a in Valencia, Spain. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: The incidence of the Wr a antigen in 110,000 healthy blood donors was estimated. Likewise, the incidence of anti‐Wr a was analyzed in a population consisting of 730 healthy blood donors, 356 pregnant women, and 581 patients who received transfusions from the area of Valencia, Spain. RESULTS: The incidence of Wr a antigen was 1 in 785. Overall, anti‐Wr a was found in 59 samples: 20 healthy blood donors (1/37), 18 pregnant women (1/20), and 21 patients who received transfusions (1/28). The most frequent immunoglobulin class of anti‐Wr a in healthy blood donors was immunoglobulin M, either alone (8 cases) or plus immunoglobulin G (IgG; 8 cases); the IgG1 and IgG3 were the IgG subclasses most frequently detected in pregnant women (12 cases) and in patients who received transfusions (12 cases). Only 51 percent of the anti‐Wr a appeared to have the potential to be clinically significant. CONCLUSION: These data show that the incidence of Wr a antigen and anti‐Wr a among the population from Valencia is similar to that reported in other European areas and suggest that the development of anti‐Wr a is facilitated by the presence of a hyperactive immune system. The clinical relevance of anti‐Wr a is limited, however.