Association of HLA-*08:DRB1*03 with immunoglobulin A-deficiency.

OBJECTIVE: Susceptibility to IgA deficiency (IgAD) is strongly associated with alleles of HLA, but it is not equally strong in different human populations. Therefore, the goal of this study was to determine the HLA-A, -B and -DRB1 antigenic and haplotypic frequencies in unrelated Polish Caucasian IgA-deficient patients who had never been examined so far in this respect. METHODS: The HLA alleles were determined by means of low resolution polymerase chain reaction with sequence specific primers (PCR-SSP) method in a group of IgA-deficient patients and control subjects from the same area. RESULTS: The HLA-DRB1*03 allele showed the strongest association with IgA deficiency in the Polish population (OR=6.6, p cor=0.0084). The HLA-B*08 allele was also associated with predisposition to the disease (OR=6.22, p cor=0.033). These significant associations could be explained in the context of a positive association of IgAD with the HLA-B*08:DRB1*03 haplotype, previously reported in other Caucasoid populations from Northern and Central Europe. In our group the HLA-B*08:DRB1*03 haplotype was present in 52.9% of IgA-deficient patients comparing to 9.9% in controls (p< 0.00011). A positive association of HLA-B*08 and DRB1*03 was stronger in IgA-deficient males than in females from the same group. CONCLUSION: Immunoglobulin A deficiency in Polish population is strongly associated with HLA-B*08:DRB1*03 haplotype rather than with single alleles.

Human Leukocyte Antigen Typing Proficiency Surveys in Korea, 2005-2006 / 대한진단검사의학회지

BACKGROUND: To monitor the performance of histocompatibility testing laboratories, HLA proficiency survey in Korea has been conducted biannually since 1996. In this report, we summarized the results of the surveys performed in recent two years (2005-2006). METHODS: A total of four proficiency surveys were performed, in which 59-61 laboratories participated. Each survey included three tests for HLA class I (serology and DNA) and class II (DNA) typing and six tests for HLA crossmatch. RESULTS: The overall concordance of serologic typing was 98.9% (355/359) for HLA-A, 97.5% (350/ 359) for HLA-B, and 94.7% (337/356) for HLA-C. The antigens assigned correctly by less than 95% of the participating laboratories were A26 (93.8%), B38 (94.2%), Cw3/Cw10 (90.9%), Cw6 (94.4%), and Cw8 (74.3%). The overall concordance rates of DNA typing were 99.6% (533/535) for HLA-A, 99.8% (539/540) for HLA-B, and 100% (392/392) for HLA-C. Correct assignment of HLA-DRB1 and -DQB1 was reported by 99.2% (98.1-100%) and 96.7% (88.9-100%) for the generic level and 100% and 95.8% (75-100%) for the allelic level, respectively. On the average 3.8% (0-7.7%) of the total laboratories showed unacceptable results in the crossmatch tests. CONCLUSIONS: The rates of correct antigen identification and of unacceptable crossmatch were similar to those of previous surveys, which were considered satisfactory. The Korean proficiency survey program may have contributed to a high quality of HLA tests today and should be continued for further improvements of the tests tomorrow.

Serological analysis of human leukocyte antigens-A and -B antigens in Thai patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: To study the distribution of human leukocyte antigens (HLA) -A and -B antigens by standard microlymphocytotoxicity assay in Thai nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients compared to normal controls in order to identify the alleles associated with NPC in Thailand. DESIGN: Retrospective-Analytical study. SUBJECTS: Fifty-three unrelated Thai patients with histologically confirmed NPC diagnosed at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital and 70 healthy unrelated Thai individuals served as controls. METHOD: Lymphocyte separation and HLA typing were performed from freshly drawn blood by standard microlymphocytotoxicity assay. The significance of differences between the two groups was analyzed by the chi-square test. RESULTS: HLA-A2 was observed at a greater frequency in patients being found in 31/53 (58%) NPC patients compared to 27/70 (38%) controls (p = 0.02). An increase in HLA-B46 was also demonstrated. HLA-B46 was present in 16/53 (30%) NPC patients but was observed in 10/70 (14%) in controls (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: This study reported two susceptible, HLA-A2 and HLA-B46 antigens, for NPC in a Thai population.

Sex Association with HLA-A, -B and -C antigens among bahrainis

This is the first study of HLA class I antigens among Bahrainis, which will indicate the HLA -A, -B, and -C amongst Bahrainis in correlation with sex of the population. Six hundred and five Bahrainis were included in the study [303 males: 302 females]. The complement-dependent microcytotoxicity [CDC] was used. The study showed that there are unique HLA antigens, which show Bahrainis relation to the Middle East, with the following characteristics of high frequencies: A2, Al, A19, A9, Al0, All, B12, B7, B8, B2, B5, B13, Cw4, Cw3, Cw1, Cw2, and Cw6. Some of the antigens were shared with other countries. The results showed that some HLA -A, -B and -C antigens are sex associated

Serum and urine soluble HLA class I antigen concentrations are increased in patients with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome

OBJECTIVES: In order to evaluate the association between the Hantaan virus-induced cellular-immune response and clinical severity in patients with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). METHODS: We serially measured the serum (n = 16) and urine (n = 6) concentrations of soluble HLA class 1 antigen (sHLA-l) and clinical powameters in patients with HFRS. RESULTS: Serum sHLA-I concentrations in patients with HFRS were significantly higher than those in controls throughout all clinical phases (p < 0.01). The highly elevated Serum sHLA-I concentrations peaked in the oliguric phase and declined gradually through the phases of HFRS. Serum sHLA-l concentrations in patients with hypotensive episode were higher than in those without the episode (5,85 +/-2,184 vs. 2,389 +/- 860 ng/ml in oliguric phase, 4.11 +/- 1,952 vs. 1,502 +/- 592 ng/ml in diuretic phase, p < 0.05), and serum sHLA-l levels showed a significant correlation with blood WBC count (r = 0.75 in the febrile and hypotensive phase, p < 0.01) and serum creatinine concentrations (r = 0.64 in the oliguric phase, p< 0.01), respectively, Urine sHLA-I levels in the oliguric phase were significantly higher than those in the diuretic phase (390 +/- 155 vs. 214 +/- 45 ng/mg Cr, p < 0.05) and urine sHLA-I levels are associated with severe illness in patients with HFRS. The higher serum sHLA-I are associated with severe illness in patients with HFRS. The persistent elevation of serum sHLA-I during all phases of HFRS might be related to increased production due to prolonged cellular immunologic stimulation by the Hantaan virus rather than decreased excretion of sHLA-I through the kidney. CONCLUSION: We suggest that the serum and urine sHLA-I concentrations can be used as a stable and objective parameter for monitoring clinical severity and renal dysfunction in patients with HFRS.

Histocompatibility in couples with habitual abortion

Thirty couples suffering from habitual abortion as well as thirty normal fertile couples as a control group were subjected to HLA typing and one way mixed lymphocyte culture reaction [MLC] between females and their husbands in each group and between "females and husbands in the other groupo. There was no significant difference in the frequency, of any of the HLA-A or B antigens in females or males of recurrent abortions compared to the normal control group and another larger control group representing the general Egyptian population. However a significant increase was found in sharing of antigens as regards locus A and B and combined at both loci in habitual abortion group compared to the control group. Mothers in the abortion group were found to be significantly hyporesponsive to stimulation by their husband's lymphocytes specifically. There was no significant association between the sharing of HLA antigens and depression in MLC on individual basis, abortions. Their ages ranged from 21-35 years and the number of living children ranged from 3 to 6 children. All wives of abortion and control groups were non pregnant at the time of the study. HLA Typing: Tissue typing for HLA-A and HLA-B antigens for both partners was performed with the use of two stages lymphocyte microcytotoxicity technique [Terasaki et al, 1978] Mixed lymphocyte culture [MLC] reactivity: One way mixed lymphocyte culture was performed [Hartzman et al, 1971] and the following responses were studied: 1.Cellular response of cells from the wives: each stimulated, by her husband in both study and control groups 2.Cellular response of the wives in the abortion group stimulated by men from the control group 3 Cellular response of the wives in the control group stimulated by men from the study group N.Bs:Every MLC combination was done in triplicate. Results of MLC were expressed as stimulation index [SI] and relative response [RR] as follows: SI = Test mean count per minute [cpm] Autologous mean [cpm] Where: Test cpm = Mean counts per minute for a woman's cells [female responder] against mitomycin treated husband's stimulator cells [male stimulator]