The HLA-C*05 family allele - C*05:142.

The sequencing of exons 2-7 of a likely new HLA-C05 allele identified the second example of HLA-C05:142, in a male UK European, within a few months of the first example being found in Germany. C05:142 differs from C05:01:01:01 by a single base (395G>C) in exon 3 resulting in an amino acid substitution of R108P. Comprehensive serological HLA-Cw5 typing, using 19 antisera, indicated that C05:142 encodes a "normal" Cw5 specificity. Failure to identify the involvement of position 108 in published HLA-C epitopes supported this assertion. The likely HLA class I C05:142-bearing haplotype is A02:01~C05:142~B44:02. This new allele has a maximum frequency of 0.00001, in 34,743 sequenced-based typed subjects, contrasting with that of C05:01 (allele frequency 0.10441), in our local, largely UK European, blood donors.