Allele Frequencies of HLA Class-I Loci in the Normal Iranian Population

Introduction: Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) genes are the most polymorphic loci in the human genome. They predict the outcome of transplantation by detecting self from non-self antigens. The best use of HLA typing is to find a HLA-match donor for BMT candidate patients. Evidence suggests that matching unrelated donors and recipients for HLA-A, -B and -DRB1 loci is a prediction for an improved outcome. Methods and materials: HLA-A and -B of six hundred Iranian cord blood samples were typed by PCR-SSP method and the frequency of loci were estimated. Results: The most frequent alleles were A*02(18.16), A*24(16.41), B*35(21.66) and B*51(13.35), respectively. Discussion: Our HLA typing data show similarity between neighbor and related countries and Caucasians. Identifying HLA alleles helps to find suitable donors for patients in need of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.