A new private platelet antigen, Groa, localized on glycoprotein IIIa, involved in neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia.

The serum of a Caucasian woman who gave birth to a child with neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia contained antibodies directed against a platelet antigen of the newborn. There was no incompatibility for the known platelet alloantigens HPA-1 to HPA-7 or for the private or low-frequency antigens Sra and Vaa, between the platelets of the parents. However, crossmatching with the serum of the mother and the platelets of the child and the father was strongly positive, suggesting a new platelet antibody specificity. To investigate the inheritance of the 'Groa' antigen involved, the available family members were tested in the platelet immunofluorescence test (PIFT) and the monoclonal antibody-specific immobilization of platelet antigens (MAIPA) assay. The Groa antigen was found to be inherited in an autosomal-codominant fashion. In the MAIPA, we localized the Groa antigen on the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa complex (alpha IIb beta 3). The GP IIb/IIIa localization was confirmed in immunoprecipitation studies. In Western blotting experiments, we further localized the Groa antigen on the GP IIIa (beta 3) subunit of the GP IIb/IIIa complex. Until now we have tested approximately 400 unrelated donors. None of these appeared to be positive for the Groa antigen, suggesting a phenotype frequency in the Dutch population of less than 0.01.