title: Genomic identification of the minor histocompatibility antigen HA-1 locus by allele-specific PCR.
abstract: Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) can be a major complication of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation even in recipients of HLA genotype-identical transplants. Disparities in minor histocompatibility antigens (mHags) between donor and recipient are a potential risk for the development of GvHD. A mismatch for the mHag HA-1 can cause GvHD in adult recipients of allogeneic bone marrow from HLA-identical donors. The mHag HA-1, first identified by HLA-A*0201-restricted cytotoxic T cells (CTLs), was recently chemically characterized as a nonapeptide. On the cDNA level, the HA-1 locus has two alleles, HA-1H and HA-1R, which differ in two nucleotides, resulting in a single amino acid substitution. Here we report on the genomic structure of the HA-1 locus. Isolation and sequencing of cosmid DNA encoding the HA-1 peptide sequence revealed that the HA-1 alleles are encoded by two exons. Two different primer sets were designed, each consisting of allele-specific primers and a common primer, and both sets containing intronic sequences. We performed genomic DNA typing of three families consisting of 24 HLA-A*0201-positive individuals. The predicted allele-specific products correlated in all cases with the mHag classification by CTLs and by RT-PCR. We demonstrate for the first time the genomic identification of the mHag HA-1 locus. Prospective genomic typing for the HA-1 alleles will improve donor selection and identify HLA-A*0201-positive recipients with a high risk for HA-1-induced GvHD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunohematology and Bloodbank, Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands. ihbsecr@euronet.nl
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wilke
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pool
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: den Haan
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Goulmy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000483:Alleles; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D002888:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 19; D003360:Cosmids / Q000235:genetics; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000378:metabolism; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing; D006801:Humans; D015778:Minor Histocompatibility Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; C110615:HA-1 antigen; D015778:Minor Histocompatibility Antigens; D009842:Oligopeptides