摘要
HLA-A＊02 is the most prevalent and polymorphic major histocompatibility complex （MHC） allele family in humans. Functional differences have been revealed among subtypes, demanding further subtyping of HLA-A＊02 in basic and clinical settings. However, the fast growing polymorphisms render traditional primeror probe-based typing methods impractical and result in increasing ambiguities in direct sequence-based typing. In this study, we combined group-specific amplification and mono-allelic sequencing to design and validate a simple scheme for the complete screening and accurate subtyping of all 540 reported HLA-A＊02 alleles. This scheme could be performed in routine labs to facilitate studies with an interest in HLA-A＊02.
HLA-A＊02 is the most prevalent and polymorphic major histocompatibility complex （MHC） allele family in humans. Functional differences have been revealed among subtypes, demanding further subtyping of HLA-A＊02 in basic and clinical settings. However, the fast growing polymorphisms render traditional primeror probe-based typing methods impractical and result in increasing ambiguities in direct sequence-based typing. In this study, we combined group-specific amplification and mono-allelic sequencing to design and validate a simple scheme for the complete screening and accurate subtyping of all 540 reported HLA-A＊02 alleles. This scheme could be performed in routine labs to facilitate studies with an interest in HLA-A＊02.
基金
The authors would like to thank Jueqin Yang for assistance with sample preparation. The authors would also like to thank the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center IHWG Cell and Gene Bank for providing reference genomic DNA samples. This work was supported through grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China （NSF-30830093） and the National Key Program （973） for Basic Research of China （2009CB522409） to HJ. Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on Cellular ＆ Molecular Immunology website.
