Phenotype Frequencies of Autosomal Minor Histocompatibility Antigens Display Significant Differences among Populations

Minor histocompatibility (H) antigens are allogeneic target molecules having significant roles in alloimmune responses after human leukocyte antigen–matched solid organ and stem cell transplantation (SCT). Minor H antigens are instrumental in the processes of transplant rejection, graft-versus-host disease, and in the curative graft-versus-tumor effect of SCT. The latter characteristic enabled the current application of selected minor H antigens in clinical immunotherapeutic SCT protocols. No information exists on the global phenotypic distribution of the currently identified minor H antigens. Therefore, an estimation of their overall impact in human leukocyte antigen–matched solid organ and SCT in the major ethnic populations is still lacking. For the first time, a worldwide phenotype frequency analysis of ten autosomal minor H antigens was executed by 31 laboratories and comprised 2,685 randomly selected individuals from six major ethnic populations. Significant differences in minor H antigen frequencies were observed between the ethnic populations, some of which appeared to be geographically correlated

HLA-DRB1*03 is a susceptibility gene in patients with Graves' disease with and without ophthalmopathy

We sought an association between certain human leucocyte antigen (HLA) markers and Graves' disease (GD) with and without ophthalmopathy (OP). One hundred and thirty-one Turkish patients with GD (50 without OP, 81 with OP) and 250 local healthy controls were studied. HLA-DRB1 typing was performed by using polymerase chain reaction-sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP) method

The Frequency of HLA Class I and II Alleles in Turkish Childhood Acute Leukaemia Patients

In this study, blood samples were taken from 200 patients with childhood acute leukaemias, including acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), and from 100 healthy volunteers (controls). The frequency of the human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-DRB1*04 allele was significantly higher, and the frequencies of the HLA-A23 and HLA-B7 antigens were significantly lower, in patients with ALL compared with controls. Among patients with AML, the frequency of the HLA-B49 antigen and the HLA-DRB1*15 allele were significantly higher, whereas the frequencies of the HLA-A11 and HLA-B38 antigens were significantly lower compared with controls. The frequency of the HLA-DRB1*04 allele was also significantly higher in male patients with ALL and AML, whereas the HLA-DRB1*13 allele was found significantly less frequently in male AML and female ALL patients than in controls. To date, this is the only study to evaluate the associations between HLA molecules and leukaemia in a Turkish population with acute childhood leukaemia

The Relationship Between Minor Histocompatibility Antigens And Graft-Versus-Host Disease After The Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stern Cell Transplantation

The major complication of hematopoetic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) or graft. HLA incompatibility increases the frequency of GVHD. On the other hand, the risk is still available despite full matched HLAs, which may he related with non-HLAs or minor antigens. One of these minor antigens, HA-1 alelic incompatibility has been shown to be associated with GVHD in HLA-identical sibling transplants. The HA-1 is an HLA-A*0201 restricted non-peptide, winch derives from the cleavage of a protein encoded at clu-omosome 19. There are two :tidies of HA-1 created by a polymorphism at position 504 that results in either Histidine (HA-1.H) or Arginine (HA-1R). The aim a of the study is investigate the relationship between HA-1 and GVHD. We retrospectively examined the HA-1 locus in patients diaDiosed and treated between 1998-2004. We used PLR-SSP for typing HA-1. Forty samples from 20 HLA-A2 positive.HSCT ((BMT, n=3; PBSCT, n=17) recipients and their donors were included in our study. The frequencies of the three possible genotypes RR, RH, HH were 35%, 45% and 20%, respectively, in recipients and 35%, 65% and 0% in donors. Four of the 20 patients (20%) were determined as having evre II or III GVHD. There is HA-1H incompatibility between donor and recipient only in two patients with GVHD. mHAgs were found to be incompatible in 8 out of 20 recipient/donor pairs