HLA-A region in highly sensitized patients: another immune response gene region.
HLA haplotypes were assigned by family typing in 94 prospective kidney transplant recipients. An HLA-A region of the HLA-A, B, DR haplotypes was found in association with high levels of antibodies against lymphocytes. There was a significant difference in the frequency of HLA-B8-positive haplotypes among the patients with regard to the distribution of HLA-A alleles (p = 0.0028); on the same haplotype the A1 and B8 alleles were found in moderately and weakly sensitized patients and HLA-A alleles other than A1 were present with B8 in highly sensitized patients. A significantly higher number of highly sensitized patients when compared with moderately sensitized patients had haplotypes with HLA-A alleles in negative linkage disequilibrium with HLA-B alleles (77 vs. 10%, p = 0.014). The results are in good agreement with a previous suggestion that the interaction between the HLA-A class I and class II regions regulates the immune response. Determination of HLA haplotypes might identify patients at high risk for broad and persisting sensitization.
Bućin
D
D
Blood Center, University Hospital of Lund, Sweden.
Lindholm
T
T
Persson
N H
NH
D000483:Alleles; D005805:Genes, MHC Class I; D015234:HLA-A Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D015235:HLA-B Antigens / Q000235:genetics; D006239:Haplotypes / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000276:immunology; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium
D015234:HLA-A Antigens; D015235:HLA-B Antigens