HLA-A*29:01-B*07:05-C*15:29*DRB1*10:01-DQB1*05:01, a deduced probable human leukocyte antigen haplotype in association with a human leukocyte antigen-C low-incidence allele C*15:29 in Taiwanese individuals.

OBJECTIVE

HLA-C15:29 is a low-frequency allele in the human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-C locus. The aim of this study is to confirm the ethnicity of C15:29 and to deduce a probable HLA haplotype in association with C*15:29 in Taiwanese population.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 12,534 healthy unrelated Taiwanese individuals were tested for HLA using a sequence-based typing method. The DNA material was subjected to HLA genotyping for the HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C, HLA-DRB1, and HLA-DQB1 loci using a commercial polymerase chain reaction-sequencing-based typing kit as per the manufacturer's protocols.

RESULTS

The DNA sequence of C15:29 is identical to C15:02:01:01 in exons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 except for residues 420 and 1034 where A and G of C15:02:01:01 are substituted by C and A in C15:29, respectively. The nucleotide substitutions introduce two amino acid replacements at residues 116 and 321 where leucine (L) and cysteine (C) of C15:02:01:01 are replaced by phenylalanine (F) and tyrosine (Y) in C15:29, respectively. A probable HLA haplotype associated with C15:29 in Taiwanese was deduced as A29:01-B07:05-C15:29-DRB110:01-DQB105:01. The frequency of C*15:29 is estimated at about 0.064%.

CONCLUSION

Information on the ethnicity and distribution of C*15:29 and its deduced probable HLA haplotype is of value for HLA testing laboratories for reference purposes and can help bone marrow donor registries find compatible donors for patients with this uncommon HLA allele.