DNA typing for HLA‐DR, and ‐DP alleles in a Chinese population using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and oligonucleotide probes

Abstract: We have determined alleles of HLA‐DRB1, DRB3, DRB5, DQA1, DQB1, and DPB1 loci in 91 unrelated healthy individuals from North China. Group‐specific PCR primers were employed for the analysis of subsets of DR1, DR2, DR4, DRw52, and DPB. With allele‐specific probes, 22 DRB1, 8 DQA1, 13 DQB1, and 12 DPB1 alleles were found in this panel. Allele frequencies showed that 25.3% of the subjects had DR7 and 26.4% had DR9, only 5.5% had DRB1*0301 (DRwl7). In the DR4 group, DRB1*0405 (Dw15, 8.8%) and 0406 (KT2, 9.9%) were the most prevalent alleles. DRB1*0404 (Dw14.1), 0407 (Dw13.2) and 0408 (Dw14.2) were absent and the other alleles of the DR4 group were rare. The most common DRw6 subset was DRB1*1401 (8.8%). DRB1*0802 and 0803 were present (2.2%, 6.6%), and DRB1*0801 was not found. Associations with DQA1 and DQB1 were generally similar to those found in other populations. DPB1*0501 was the most frequent (60.2%) allele at the DPB1 locus. Overall our study shows that the distribution of class I1 alleles in a population from Mainland China is quite different from other ethnic groups. The high frequency of the KT2 subset of DR4 (DRB1*0406) and of DPB1*0501 are the most striking features found. A new type of DR4 was determined in one subject. It was like DR4‐Dw15 (DRB 1*0405) but, according to our hybridization patterns, it encoded valine instead of glycine in position 86. It is now called DRB1*0410.