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Abstract: Human leukocyte antigen (HLA), which is extremely polymorphic, plays an important role in stem cell transplantation. The Chinese Han comprise a large population of approximately 1.3 billion with diverse HLA alleles that need to be characterized. Data from 3,296 independent, unrelated Chinese Han individuals (1,457 recipients and 1,839 donors) were provided by the China Marrow Donor Program (CMDP) for donor–recipient confirmatory typing. Sequence-based typing, sequence-specific oligonucleotide probe (SSOP)/High Definition-SSOP, and sequence-specific primer methods were used to obtain 4-digit alleles. A total of 49, 86, 50, 63, and 24 HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, and -DQB1 alleles were observed. Following American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ASHI) common and well-documented (CWD) criteria, CWD alleles for Chinese Han in our laboratory test and other laboratory reports do not quite correlate with the ASHI CWD alleles: A*11:53, A*02:34, A*02:53N, B*27:24, B*46:02, B*55:12, C*01:06, C*03:17, C*06:06, C*07:66, C*07:67, C*08:22, DRB1*12:10, DQB1*03:13, and DQB1*06:05 are CWD, but are not included in the ASHI CWD list. A series of alleles are well-documented alleles and are listed in the ASHI CWD list. Conversely, A*26:03, B*51:03, C*12:05, C*15:09, C*15:11, C*17:03, DRB1*11:07, DRB1*11:11, DRB1*13:05, DRB1*13:13, DRB1*14:06, DRB1*14:12, DRB1*14:22, DRB1*14:25, and DQB1*06:11 are rare alleles, but are included in the ASHI CWD list. HLA ethnic diversity is the main reason for the differences in HLA alleles worldwide. The ASHI HLA CWD alleles help reduce the workload and expenses in high-resolution donor registries and the HLA allele frequencies provide a basis from which to predict the chances of finding HLA matching donors. Our data will be meaningful for the CMDP, for other worldwide donor registries, and for an updated ASHI CWD allele list. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Killer cell immunoglobulinlike receptors (KIRs) are a diverse family of receptors on natural killer cells. The KIR2DS4-deleted variant differs from the normal KIR2DS4 sequence by a 22-bp deletion in exon 5, which causes a frame shift, yielding a truncated KIR2DS4 protein with loss of the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains of the full-length KIR2DS4 protein. A sequence-based testing and TOPO TA cloning system identifying and distinguishing alleles of the KIR2DS4 gene was established. The method was applied to 150 Chinese Han individuals: 75 patients who received T-depleted hematopoietic stem cells transplantation and their unrelated donors, establishing frequencies of 2DS4 allele and KIR gene within the local population. A majority (139) of the 150 samples (92.7%) were positive for KIR2DS4. The ratio of deleted to nondeleted versions of KIR2DS4 was approximately 1:2. Three KIR2DS4 novel alleles were identified. Forty-four percent individuals carried two group A haplotypes. The 17 KIR gene loci were found in 21.3%–100% in the population. Our findings suggest that the Chinese Han population is distinct in KIR gene frequencies and 2DS4 allele frequencies in comparison with some other populations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]