HLA-DQA1 introns 2 and 3 sequencing: DQA1 sequencing-based typing and characterization of a highly polymorphic microsatellite at intron 3 of DQA1*0505.

DQA1 class II gene encodes the alpha-chain of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DQ heterodimer. Sequencing-based typing (SBT) for HLA genes is the most powerful methodology described. However, most of the SBT procedures reported for HLA class II genes are not able to define complete exon 2 region. For that purpose, we have characterized introns 2 and 3 from most DQA1 alleles to design amplification procedures that were able to obtain complete exon 2 and 3 sequences from DQA1 genes. This coding information allowed us to reduce the number of ambiguities for DQA1 typing. DQA1 intron 2 and 3 characterization demonstrated the presence of two polymorphisms for alleles with the same exons 2 and 3 sequence from DQA1*05 group. Different samples including the DQA1*050101 alleles showed a single nucleotide polymorphism at position 53 of intron 2 (G53T). Additional haplotypic analysis showed the possible association of T53 allele with the Ax-Cw5-B18-DR17-DQ2 extended haplotype. On the other hand, DQA1*0505 sequencing from different control samples noticed the existence of a microsatellite (TTTC/AAAG)n located at position 126 of intron 3. Fragment length analysis demonstrated a high polymorphism for this short tandem repeat system (0505STR), defining alleles that ranged from 8 to 20 repetitions in our population.

Bi-directional allelic recognition of the human minor histocompatibility antigen HB-1 by cytotoxic T lymphocytes.

Human minor histocompatibility antigens (mHag) are target antigens of the graft-versus-leukemia response observed after allogeneic HLA-identical stem cell transplantation. We previously defined the molecular nature of the B cell lineage-specific mHag HB-1. The CTL epitope was identified as the decamer peptide EEKRGSLHVW presented in the context of HLA-B44. The HB-1 antigen is encoded by a locus of yet unknown function on chromosome 5q32. A single nucleotide polymorphism within this locus results in an amino acid change from histidine (H) to tyrosine (Y) at position P8 within the CTL epitope. Based on genomic information, we have developed a PCR-RFLP assay to perform HB-1 typing at the DNA level. We determined that the allelic frequency for the H and Y variant is 0.79 and 0.21, respectively. From these data, we calculated that the expected recipient disparity between HLA-B44-matched sibling pairs for HB-1H is 2.8%, whereas recipient disparity for HB-1Y is expected to be 12.4%. Therefore, we addressed whether the HB-1Y peptide is reciprocally immunogenic. We revealed that both peptide variants bind equally efficient to HLA-B44 molecules and that the H/Y substitution has no influence on formation of epitope precursor peptides by 20 S proteasome-mediated degradation. More directly, CTL recognizing the naturally presented HB-1Y peptide could be generated from a HB-1H homozygous donor using peptide-pulsed dendritic cells. Using a set of synthetic structurally related peptide variants, we found that the H/Y substitution has a major impact on TCR recognition by CTL specific for either of the HB-1 allelic homologues. HB-1 is the first human mHag described that induces bi-directional allogeneic CTL responses that may contribute to a specific graft-versus-leukemia response following allogeneic stem cell transplantation.