High-Resolution HLA-A Typing in Normal Iranian Population

Background Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene is a highly polymorphic region. HLA typing is required to match patients and donors for transplantation; therefore, development of HLA registries is necessary for finding HLA match donors. HLA system is highly informative, and numerous studies have been conducted on HLA allele distribution in different populations. Methods In this study, 100 unrelated Iranian individuals were typed for HLA-A locus using sequence-based typing method. Samples were subjected to the PCR, followed by Sanger sequencing and software analysis. Results A*02:01 (13%) and A*24:02 (12%) were the two most frequent alleles, while A*01:14, A*02:05, A*02:11, A*02:34, A*02:50, A*11:04, A*23:02, A*24:34, A*25:01, A*26:09, A*26:43, A*29:67, A*30:54, A*31:02, A*31:66, A*32:03, A*32:04, A*33:03, and A*66:15 alleles had the least frequencies (1%). Conclusion This is the first report of HLA-A allele level typing in a randomized population of Iran and can be useful for development of national registries of HLA-typed volunteer marrow donors and local cord blood banks.