Positive association of DRB1 04 and DRB1 15 alleles with Fya immunization in a Southern European population.
BACKGROUND
Anti-Fy(a) has been implicated in hemolytic transfusion reactions. However, not all Fy(a-) patients develop anti-Fy(a) after transfusion with 1 unit of blood [Fy(a+)]. This study was designed to identify HLA-DRB1 alleles associated with a predisposition to Fy(a) immunization after blood transfusion.


METHODS
To identify HLA-DRB1 alleles prone to immunization after blood transfusion or pregnancy, HLA-DRB1 genotyping using polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific oligonucleotide nonradioactive probe/sequence-specific priming methods was performed on blood samples from 67 immunized patients and 200 unrelated controls from the same southern European population in a case-control retrospective study.


RESULTS
Ninety-six percent of patients with anti-Fy(a) had at least one HLA-DRB1 04 or HLA-DRB1 15 allele compared to 34% of controls (p(c) < 0.001). Furthermore HLA-DRB1 04 and HLA-DRB1 1501 frequencies were significantly increased in Fy(a)-immunized patients (35% vs. 12%, p(c) < 0.001; and 30% vs. 19%, p(c) < 0.001, respectively). Among HLA-DRB1 04 allelic subtypes, DRB1 0401 and DRB1 0403 alleles were more strongly correlated with Fy(a) immunization (51% vs. 24% and 19% vs. 9%; p(c) < 0.001, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
This study indicated that HLA-DRB1 04 and DRB1 1501 are overrepresented in Fy(a)-immunized patients. The correlation between these alleles and Fy(a) immunization could be due to a particular presentation of the Fy(a) peptide in HLA-DRB1 molecules.
Picard
Chistophe
C
Etablissement Français du Sang Alpes Méditerranée, UMR 6578, Université de la Méditerranée, Marseille, France.
Frassati
Coralie
C
Basire
Agnes
A
Buhler
Stephan
S
Galicher
Vital
V
Ferrera
Virginie
V
Reviron
Denis
D
Zappitelli
Jean-Pierre
JP
Bailly
Pascal
P
Chiaroni
Jacques
J
D000483:Alleles; D004375:Duffy Blood-Group System / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D059811:HLA-DRB1 Chains; D006801:Humans; D007518:Isoantibodies / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D044465:White People / Q000235:genetics
D004375:Duffy Blood-Group System; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D059811:HLA-DRB1 Chains; C553505:HLA-DRB1*04:01 antigen; D007518:Isoantibodies; C061962:anti-Fy(a) antibody