Novel HLA-B alleles, B8201, B3515 and B5106, add to the complexity of serologic identification of HLA types

• Published in: Tissue antigens Vol. 47; no. 3; p. 179
• Main Authors: Hurley, C K, Steiner, N, Hoyer, R J, Menchaca, E, Mitton, W, Simonis, T, Hartzman, R J, Johnson, A H, Ng, J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01-03-1996
• Subjects: Alleles; Antigenic Variation - genetics; Base Sequence; HLA-B Antigens - genetics; HLA-B Antigens - isolation & purification; HLA-B35 Antigen - genetics; HLA-B35 Antigen - isolation & purification; HLA-B51 Antigen; HLA-B8 Antigen - genetics; HLA-B8 Antigen - isolation & purification; Humans; Molecular Sequence Data; Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
• ISSN: 0001-2815
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1399-0039.1996.tb02538.x

Three class I alleles, B*8201, B*3515 and B*5106, have been described using DNA and cDNA sequencing. The B*8201 allele is most structurally related to B*5602, differing from it by 14 nucleotide substitutions resulting in 5 amino acid differences. The other two alleles, B*3515 and B*5106, differ from their most closely related HLA-B alleles by 2-3 nucleotide substitutions resulting in 1-2 amino acid substitutions, respectively. The majority of nucleotide substitutions marking these new alleles are observed in other HLA-B alleles suggesting that gene conversion and/or reciprocal recombination have created this diversity. All of the amino acid substitutions are predicted to alter the antigen binding site of the HLA-B molecule. The newly defined HLA-B allelic products were originally defined by their unusual serologic reactivity patterns. The B*8201 allelic product is serologically typed as a B "blank" or as a variant of B22 or B45. These patterns and the serologic reactivity of the other newly described allelic products are consistent with the protein sequence homology among specific HLA-B molecules. While serology remains a powerful tool for detecting HLA diversity, alleles generated by events resulting in the sharing of HLA sequence polymorphisms among alleles at a locus will continue to create complexity in the interpretation of typing results.