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Several studies have investigated the association of different HLA antigens with multiple sclerosis (MS). However, only few studies have considered the association of high-resolution HLA type and MS with none yet from Saudi Arabia. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of HLA class II alleles with MS in the Saudi population. We used next-generation sequencing to investigate HLA association with MS. This study was conducted at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We found that several HLA-DRB1 and DQB1 alleles were associated with MS. These alleles included HLA-DRB1*15:01 (odds ratio [OR]: 3.01; 95%, confidence interval [CI]: 1.68-5.54; P = .0001), HLA-DQB1*02:01 (OR: 1.76; 95% CI: 1.20-2.58; P = .0022), HLA-DQB1*06:02 (OR: 3.52; 95% CI: 1.87-6.86; P < .0001), and HLA-DQB1*06:03 (OR: 2.42; 95% CI: 1.16-5.25; P = 0.01). Interestingly, HLA-DRB1*15:01 was associated with increased risk of previous relapses. In addition, HLA-DRB1*15:01 and HLA-DQB1*06:02 were found to be associated with lower vitamin D levels. This study provides insights on the association of different HLA alleles with clinical characteristics and outcome of MS among Saudis. These insights can have future implications for the clinical management of MS based on the patient genetic profile., (© 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

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.)

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]