Probable HLA haplotypes in association with the uncommon HLA-C*03:36, -C*03:56, and -C*03:86 alleles in a Taiwanese population

ObjectiveHLA-C*03:36, -C*03:56 and -C*03:86 are three human leukocyte antigen type C (HLA-C) locus alleles that are rarely observed in the Taiwanese population. The objective of this study is to report the three plausible deduced HLA haplotypes in association with C*03:36, C*03:56, and C*03:86 in Taiwanese unrelated bone marrow stem cell donors.Materials and MethodsThe sequence-based typing method was used to confirm the low-incidence alleles observed. Polymerase chain reaction was carried out to amplify exons 2 and 3 of the HLA-C locus with group-specific primer sets. Amplicons were sequenced using the BigDye Terminator Cycle Sequencing Ready Reaction Kit in both directions according to the manufacturer's protocol.ResultsWe confirmed the DNA sequences of C*03:36, C*03:56, and C*03:86 and deduced the three plausible HLA haplotypes in association with C*03:36 (A*33:03-B*58:01-C*03:36-DRB1*01:01), C*03:56 (A*02:01-B*48:01-C*03:56-DRB1*12:02), and C*03:86 (A*02-B*35-C*03:86-DRB1*09:01) in unrelated Taiwanese bone marrow stem cell donors.ConclusionThe three uncommon HLA-C haplotypes that we provide here are valuable for HLA tissue-typing laboratories for reference purposes and for stem cell transplantation donor search coordinators to determine the likelihood of finding compatible donors in unrelated bone marrow donor registries for patients bearing these three uncommon HLA-C locus alleles.