Further molecular diversity in the HLA‐B15 group

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Abstract
In order to further clarify the diversity of the HLA‐B15 antigens and the correspondence of serological types with alleles in Asians, we screened various B15 serological splits by means of a polymerase chain reaction‐single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR‐SSCP) method. Subsequently, the genes encoding various B15 variants were sequenced. Two novel alleles, B*1528 and B*1529, were identified: the nucleotide sequence of the former contained a single‐base substitution at position 263 in exon 2 as compared to that of the B*1501 allele, which results in an amino acid change at position 64 in the α1 domain, and the nucleotide sequence of the latter differs from that of B*1518 by a single‐base substitution at position 272 of exon 2 which results in an amino acid change at position 67 of the α1 domain. One new allele, B*1521, described recently in Australian Aborigines was also identified in Asians in the present study. Moreover, the results of sequencing demonstrated that Asian HLA‐B62, B70, and B77 antigens are encoded by B*1501, B*1518, and B*1513, respectively. Two splits of B75 antigens, B75V (TS‐1) and B15N, which have been proposed to exist in the Japanese population were encoded by B*1511 and B*1502, respectively. Most of the B15 alleles detected in the present study showed positive associations with other locus antigens. Especially, B*1502 was strongly associated with Cw8, while B*1521 was strongly associated with A34 and Cw6.