Molecular diversity of HLA-Cw alleles in the Maratha community of Mumbai, Maharashtra, western India.
Recent advances suggest a significant role for the HLA-C locus as a target of alloreactions after bone marrow transplantation. The biological importance of products of the HLA-C locus, both as transplant antigens and as ligands for natural killer (NK) cells, is well established. A total of 10 different serologically defined HLA-Cw antigen specificities (Cw1-Cw10) are encoded by the C locus; however, there are now 151 different alleles that can be identified by molecular methods. Serological definition of Cw alleles therefore includes 20-50% blanks, which cannot be detected by the available antisera. We used the molecular method of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based sequence-specific amplification and probe hybridization to define Cw alleles in 91 individuals from the Maratha community, and compared the data with data for 92 serologically typed Maratha individuals from India. We identified Cw*12, Cw*14, Cw*15, Cw*16 and Cw*18, along with the serologically identified Cw*01, Cw*02, Cw*03, Cw*04, Cw*06 and Cw*07 alleles. The HLA-Cw blank allele frequency in the Maratha was reduced from 0.5706 to 0.00. Furthermore, by using a molecular technique, it was possible to identify novel allele subtypes, such as Cw*0104, Cw*0203 and Cw*0707, and a high frequency of Cw* 1801 in the Maratha community compared with other Indian and world populations. Our results will have clinical implications in related and unrelated HLA-matched bone marrow transplantation in India.
Shankarkumar
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U
Institute of Immunohaematology, Indian Council of Medical Research, 13th Floor KEM Hospital Campus, Parel, Mumbai 400-012, Maharashtra, India. shankarkumar16@hotmail.com
Ghosh
K
K
Mohanty
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D000483:Alleles; D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000235:genetics*; D015236:HLA-C Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D006239:Haplotypes / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male
D015236:HLA-C Antigens