Detection of 549 new HLA alleles in potential stem cell donors from the United States, Poland and Germany.

We characterized 549 new human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and class II alleles found in newly registered stem cell donors as a result of high-throughput HLA typing. New alleles include 101 HLA-A, 132 HLA-B, 105 HLA-C, 2 HLA-DRB1, 89 HLA-DQB1 and 120 HLA-DPB1 alleles. Mainly, new alleles comprised single nucleotide variations when compared with homologous sequences. We identified nonsynonymous nucleotide mutations in 70.7% of all new alleles, synonymous variations in 26.4% and nonsense substitutions in 2.9% (null alleles). Some new alleles (55, 10.0%) were found multiple times, HLA-DPB1 alleles being the most frequent among these. Furthermore, as several new alleles were identified in individuals from ethnic minority groups, the relevance of recruiting donors belonging to such groups and the importance of ethnicity data collection in donor centers and registries is highlighted.

Three hundred and seventy-two novel HLA class II alleles identified in potential hematopoietic stem cell donors from Germany, the United States, and Poland.

We have characterized 372 novel human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II alleles identified in newly registered stem cell donors, this includes 281 HLA-DRB1 alleles, 89 HLA-DQB1 alleles and 2 HLA-DPB1 alleles. Most novel alleles were single nucleotide variants when compared to their respective most homologous alleles. In 66.4% of all novel alleles non-synonymous nucleotide variations were identified, in 30.4% synonymous substitutions and in 3.2% nonsense mutations. Ninty-three (25.0%) novel alleles were found in several individuals; most often these were novel HLA-DRB1 alleles. Lastly, we underline the importance of recruiting ethnic minority donors in countries such as Germany and the United States, as novel alleles were frequently found among these groups.

Identification of 2127 new HLA class I alleles in potential stem cell donors from Germany, the United States and Poland.

We describe 2127 new human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I alleles found in registered stem cell donors. These alleles represent 28.9% of the currently known class I alleles. Comparing new allele sequences to homologous sequences, we found 68.1% nonsynonymous nucleotide substitutions, 28.9% silent mutations and 3.0% nonsense mutations. Many substitutions occurred at positions that have not been known to be polymorphic before. A large number of HLA alleles and nucleotide variations underline the extreme diversity of the HLA system. Strikingly, 156 new alleles were found not only multiple times, but also in carriers of various parentage, suggesting that some new alleles are not necessarily rare. Moreover, new alleles were found especially often in minority donors. This emphasizes the benefits of specifically recruiting such groups of individuals.