87-P: HAPLOTYPE ASSOCIATION OF HLA-DQB1∗03:19 AND HLA-DR11 IN SAUDI ARABIAN POPULATION

Aim The Human Leukocyte Antigen-DQB1∗03:19 allele was identified by SSO and sequencing-based typing in prospective solid organ and bone marrow transplant recipients and donors in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. HLA-DQB1∗03:19 is identical to DQB1∗03:01except for a single nucleotide substitution at position 554 (C/T) in Exon 2, which results in threonine to isoleucine amino acid change. Methods Medium resolution genotyping for HLA-DRB1 and -DQB1 was performed by Luminex-based sequence-specific oligonucleotide (SSO) method. Sequencing based typing (SBT) was performed for high resolution HLA-DQB1 genotyping by Atria Genetics HLA SBT kits. The fluorochrome-labeled DNA fragments were electrophorased by capillary electrophoresis on an ABI 3130 Genetic Analyzer. The sequence analysis was performed using ASSIGN 3.6 software (Conexio Genomics). Results HLA-DQB1∗03:19 allele was observed frequently in Saudi Arabian deceased donors. Majority of HLA-DQB1∗03:19 positive samples (∼72%) also carried DR11 allele. Based on the known HLA linkage disequilibrium, our data suggest that the haplotype DR11-DQB1∗03:19 is frequent in Saudi Arabian populations. Conclusions Our data suggests that DQB1∗03:19 was frequently observed in Saudi Arabian deceased donors and majority of time it occurs as DR11-DQB1∗03:19 haplotype.