Analysis of HLA-DRB1 alleles using PCR-RFLP and PCR-MPH.

In this study we compare the results of HLA-DRB1 genotyping by PCR-RFLP and PCR-MPH. HLA-DR specificities were also performed by LCT. Samples were obtained from 20 Thai patients who were on the waiting list for kidney transplant. DNA was extracted by phenol-chloroform extraction. It was found that the results gave complete agreement with two methods of DNA typing, however, there were 3 discrepancies in assigning serologic DR specificities and DNA subtypes (p = 0.0001) which were due to the cross reactive antibodies and the lack of potent antisera to define proper HLA-DR subtypes by LCT. These PCR techniques can be applied to identify other alleles such as HLA-DPB1 and HLA-DQB1 which will improve the standard histocompatibility testing in the future.