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.