ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To identify a novel human leukocyte antigen (HLA) B allele and explore its family heritage.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A novel HLA allele was suspected upon routine HLA typing using a polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific oligonucleotide probe (PCR-SSOP) assay. The sequence was confirmed with DNA sequencing and compared with its closest matching allele, B*55:02. The family was also investigated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>An unusual reaction pattern was detected during routine HLA typing. The sequence was confirmed to be a novel HLA-B allele, which differed from the closest matching allele, B*55:02 in 7 nt positions in exon 2. Among the 7 mutations from 6 codons, there were two amino acids changes including 69Glu→Met and 70Glu→Ala.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>A novel HLA-B allele has been identified and officially named as B*55:35 by the WHO Nomenclature Committee for Factors of the HLA System (GenBank accession number FJ898284).</p>