title: HLA-A and HLA-B in Kenya, Africa: allele frequencies and identification of HLA-B*1567 and HLA-B*4426.
abstract: HLA-A and HLA-B alleles of a population from Kenya, Africa were examined by sequencing exon 2 and exon 3 DNA and typing using a Taxonomy-based Sequence-analysis (TBSA) method. Extensive diversities were observed at both HLA-A and HLA-B loci in this population. Forty-one HLA-A alleles were identified from 159 unrelated individuals. The most frequently observed alleles were A*6802 (11.64%), A*02011/09 (9.75%), A*7401/02 (9.43%), A*3001 (7.86%), A*3002 (7.23%) and A*3601 (6.6%). Forty-nine HLA-B alleles were identified in 161 unrelated individuals, including two novel alleles, B*1567 and B*4426. The most frequently observed HLA-B alleles were B*5301 (9.01%), B*5801 (8.38%), B*4201 (7.76%), B*1503 (7.14%), B*1801 (6.21%), and B*5802 (5.90%). The most frequently observed HLA-A-B haplotypes were A*3601-B*5301 (3.55%) and A*3001-B*4201 (3.19%), followed by A*7401/02-B*5801 (2.84%), A*7401/02-B*5802 (2.84%) and A*02011/09-B*1503 (2.13%). Linkage disequilibrium and chi2 analysis showed the association of these HLA-A-B haplotypes at the antigen level to be significant. The frequencies of HLA-A and HLA-B alleles from the Kenyan population were compared with that of a population from Cameroon. The difference in allele and haplotype frequency distributions partly reflected the different ethnic composition of these two African populations.
authors.affiliation: University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Embree
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ramdahin
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ndinya-Achola
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Njenga
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Bwayo
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cheang
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stuart
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Brunham
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Plummer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D002163:Cameroon; D005091:Exons; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D015234:HLA-A Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D015235:HLA-B Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D059910:HLA-B15 Antigen; D059948:HLA-B44 Antigen; D006801:Humans; D007630:Kenya; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data
chemical_list: D015234:HLA-A Antigens; D015235:HLA-B Antigens; C471426:HLA-B*15:67 antigen; C471427:HLA-B*44:26 antigen; D059910:HLA-B15 Antigen; D059948:HLA-B44 Antigen