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HLA‐B*15:33, a rare allele whose product reacts as an HLA‐B62 and ‐Cw5/Cw8 specificity
Author(s) -
Street J.,
Climer T.,
Johnson J.,
Darke C.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
international journal of immunogenetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.41
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1744-313X
pISSN - 1744-3121
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-313x.2011.01050.x
Subject(s) - biology , locus (genetics) , allele , human leukocyte antigen , genetics , typing , microbiology and biotechnology , exon , antiserum , epitope , gene , antibody , antigen
Summary Using PCR with sequence‐specific primers (SSP) and subsequent sequencing of exons 2 and 3, we identified an example of B*15:33 in a likely north‐western European Caucasoid volunteer haemopoietic stem cell (HSC) donor. This was only the second example submitted to the IMGT/HLA database since B*15:33 was first described in 1996. B*15:33 differs from B*15:01:01:01 by three nucleotides resulting in two amino acid differences with B*15:01 (131S>R, 138T>K). This allele encodes a typical HLA‐B62 specificity – as confirmed using 17 local antisera from parous women and 19 monoclonal antibodies directed towards B15, B62 and B63 specificities. Importantly, it also reacted as a Cw5/Cw8 specificity when tested against 21 Cw5, Cw5/Cw8 and Cw8 antisera. This Cw5/Cw8 reactivity is probably due to the B*15:33 specificity having lysine at position 138 which is possessed by numerous C*05 and many C*08 products. B*15:33 is likely to have derived from a HLA‐B/C inter‐locus gene conversion event. HLA‐B*15:33 is clearly rare – this single example was found during the HLA PCR‐SSP‐based typing of 57 079 potential HSC donors. This indicates an allele frequency of <0.00001 in blood donors resident in Wales. An Epstein–Barr virus transformed B‐cell line from the HLA‐B*15:33 donor is available.