Characterization of a novel DRB1*14 allele (DRB1*1449) in the Han-Chinese population.

ABSTRACT

We report here a novel human leukocyte antigen (HLA) allele, DRB1*1449, in the Han-Chinese population. The nature of the new allele was confirmed by the sequencing-based typing (SBT) method. Genomic DNA and six subclones containing DNA fragment of DRB1 exon 2 were sequenced in both forward and reverse directions. The exon 2 nucleotide sequence of DRB1*1449 is closely related to DRB1*1432 allele based on sequence homology. It has four nucleotide (nt) substitutions at positions 71, 196, 244 and 245 in exon 2, which lead to changes of amino acid sequences. The serological assignment of DRB1*1449 is DR14 based on the serological HLA typing result. This novel allele might be a result of recombination between DRB1*1402 and DRB1*140101 like alleles, which are very common among Chinese population.