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Three new HLA-C alleles were identified by sequence-based typing method (SBT) in donors for the Saudi Bone Marrow Donor Registry (SBMDR). HLA-C*14:02:13 differs from HLA-C*14:02:01 by a silent G to A substitution at nucleotide position 400 in exon 2, where lysine at position 66 remains unchanged. HLA-C*15:72 differs from HLA-C*15:22 by a nonsynonymous C to A substitution at nucleotide position 796 in exon 3, resulting in an amino acid change from phenylalanine to leucine at position 116. HLA-C*15:74 differs from HLA-C*15:08 by a nonsynonymous C to T substitution at nucleotide position 914 in exon 3, resulting in an amino acid change from arginine to tryptophan at position 156., (© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Two new HLA- DRB1 alleles were identified by sequence-based typing method (SBT) in 1100 participants in the Saudi Stem Cell Donor Registry. HLA-DRB1*11:150 differs from HLA-DRB1*11:01:01G by a single C to A substitution at nucleotide position 5580 in exon 2, resulting in an amino acid change from alanine to glutamic acid at position 74. HLA-DRB1*14:145 differs from HLA-DRB1*14:04 by a C to G substitution at nucleotide position 5511 in exon 2, resulting in an amino acid change from threonine to arginine at position 51., (© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

In this report, we present two novel HLA-A alleles: HLA-A*02:433 and HLA-A*02:434. These alleles were identified by sequence-based typing method (SBT), in two donors for the Saudi Bone Marrow Donor Registry (SBMDR). Allele A*02:433 is identical to A*02:05:01G except for a G to A substitution at nucleotide position 449 in exon 2. This substitution results in glycine to serine substitution at position 83. Whereas, allele A*02:434 is identical to A*02:01:01G except for a C to A substitution at nucleotide position 245 in exon 2, which results in phenylalanine to threonine substitution at position 15. The generation of both alleles appears to be the result of nucleotide point mutation involving 02:01:01 and 02:05:01., (© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The HLA-B50 serologic family is very frequent in people of Arabic origin. In Saudi Arabia, HLA-B50 is the most frequent HLA-B allele. The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of HLA-B50 alleles in healthy Saudi individuals. A total of 162 healthy Saudi individuals were selected based on low-resolution HLA typing. DNA samples were typed by sequence-based typing method for exons 2, 3 and 4 of the HLA-B locus (Genome Diagnostics B.V.). The HLA-B*50 alleles were analysed using SBT engine software. HLA-B*50:01:01 was found in 161 of 162 individuals (99.4%), while HLA-B*50:09 was found in one individual (0.6%). HLA-B*50:01:01 is the most common HLA-B50 allele in Saudi Arabia., (© 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a rare autoimmune disease of the neuromuscular junction. MG has been shown to be associated with many HLA antigens in different populations. Here we have analysed the frequency of HLA-A, B, DR and DQ in a group of Saudi MG patients and compared their results to a group of healthy controls. MG in Saudi patients is found to be associated with HLA-A*23, B*08, B*18, DRB1*16 and DRB1*13. The strongest association was with HLA-B*08, which was associated with young age at onset and female gender. Our results are in line with other published results from around the world and warrant fine mapping of the area using microsatellite to map the disease gene.