HLA class II allele and haplotype distribution in a population from central Poland.

We have studied the distribution of HLA DRB1, DQA1, DQB1 alleles and haplotypes in a sample of 103 unrelated healthy individuals from the region of Lodz in central Poland by the polymerase chain reaction and hybridization with allele-specific oligonucleotide probes (PCR-SSO). DRB10101, DRB107, DRB11501, DRB103 and DRB111 were the most frequent alleles at the DRB1 locus. The DRB104 group was observed at a high frequency, but only five out of the 19 DR4 subtypes tested were observed. The most frequent was DRB10401, followed by DRB10403, DRB10402, DRB10407 and DRB10417. Eight DQA1 alleles were found in this Polish population, among which DQA10501, DQA10101 and DQA10102 were the most frequent. At the DQB1 locus 13 alleles were found. Among them, four were present with frequencies above 10%: DQB10201, DQB10301, DQB10501 and DQB10602. Our results underline significant differences between the population of central Poland and populations of neighbouring countries such as Germany, Ukraine and the Czech Republic. This study will serve as a reference for further anthropological studies, as well as studies of associations between HLA and disease.