Gene frequencies of human platelet antigens on glycoprotein IIIa in Japanese.
BACKGROUND
Polymorphism of glycoprotein IIIa on human platelets is one of the factors in alloimmunization that causes neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia and refractoriness to platelet transfusion.


METHODS
DNA typing methods were originally developed to determine the genotypes of five human platelet antigen (HPA) systems located on glycoprotein IIIa: HPA-1, HPA-4, HPA-6W, HPA-7W and HPA-8W. The gene frequencies of these platelet antigens were determined by DNA typing of 331 unrelated Japanese donors.


RESULTS
The gene frequencies of the low-frequency antigens were 0.002, 0.011, and 0.027 for HPA-1b, HPA-4b, and HPA-6W(b), respectively. All 331 Japanese donors tested were HPA-7W(a/a) and HPA-8W(a/a). Moreover, in the present study, none of the donors tested had two or more of these low-frequency antigens.


CONCLUSIONS
The risk of neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia and refractoriness to platelet transfusion induced by the antigens of the HPA-1, HPA-7W, and HPA-8W systems was extremely rare in Japanese. However, attention must be paid to the involvement of the HPA-4 and HPA-6W systems in these clinical disorders.
Tanaka
S
S
Osaka Red Cross Blood Center, Japan.
Ohnoki
S
S
Shibata
H
H
Okubo
Y
Y
Yamaguchi
H
H
Shibata
Y
Y
D000483:Alleles; D016824:Antigens, Human Platelet / Q000235:genetics*; D001782:Blood Donors; D005787:Gene Frequency; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D019039:Platelet Glycoprotein GPIIb-IIIa Complex / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length
D016824:Antigens, Human Platelet; D019039:Platelet Glycoprotein GPIIb-IIIa Complex