title: HLA-B44 subtyping in the Catalan population using reference strand mediated conformation analysis. Implications for the selection of unrelated bone marrow donors.
abstract: Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) reactive against the disparity between HLA-B*4402 and HLA-B*4403 have been reported after unrelated donor bone marrow transplantation. These CTLs have been associated with acute graft-versus-host disease and graft rejection. This study describes the HLA-B44-subtyping in the Catalan population using reference-strand mediated conformation analysis. It has been performed on 297 unrelated HLA-B44+ cord blood units from the Barcelona Cord Blood Bank (Barcelona, Spain). We have found a predominance of HLA-B*4403 (66.04%) over HLA-B*4402 (33.02%), whereas the predominant HLA-B44 allele in Northern Europe and the United States is HLA-B*4402. This inverted proportion between HLA-B44 subtypes in Mediterranean populations compared with other Caucasian populations suggests that HLA-B44 subtyping should be performed when an HLA-B44+ unrelated donor marrow is identified.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Hematology Department, Institut Català d'Oncologia, Hospital Durán i Reynals, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gallardo
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Aróstegui
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Luaces
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Querol
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: González
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: García-López
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grañena
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000276:immunology*; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000276:immunology; D015235:HLA-B Antigens / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D059948:HLA-B44 Antigen; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping / Q000379:methods; D018807:Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational; D013030:Spain; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology; D014019:Tissue Donors; D044465:White People / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D015235:HLA-B Antigens; D059948:HLA-B44 Antigen