NUCLEOTIDE-SEQUENCE ANALYSIS OF HLA-B-ASTERISK-1523 AND B-ASTERISK-8101 - DOMINANT ALPHA-HELICAL MOTIFS PRODUCE COMPLEX SEROLOGIC RECOGNITION PATTERNS FOR THE HLA-B''DT'' AND HLA-B''NM5'' ANTIGENS

Assigning a precise serologic specificity to the class I HLA-B''NM5'' and HLA-B''DT'' molecules has proven difficult, with patterns of serologic cross-reactivity suggesting that NM5 is most like antigens in the B5 CREG and that DT is either B7 or B40 like. To better understand the relationship these antigens share with other HLA-B molecules we determined the nucleotide sequence of the alleles encoding HLA-B''NM5'' and HLA-B''DT''. Sequencing results show that NM5 shares the most overall sequence homology with the B70 antigens and that differences at the alpha-helical Bw4/Bw6 epitope preclude serologic cross-reactivity between NM5 and the B70 antigens. Accordingly, NM5 has been assigned the name B*1523. The strong serologic impact of helical sequence conservations and variations is reiterated for the class I HLA-B''DT'' molecule. Comparative analysis demonstrates that sequence conservations in the first domain's alpha-helix stimulate cross-reactivity between HLA-B''DT'' and HLA-B7, whereas epitopes conserved in the second domain's alpha-helix impel cross-reactivity between HLA-B''DT'' and HLA-B48. To convey the unique lineage of this hybrid B7/B48 molecule the name HLA-B*8101 has been assigned to HLA-B''DT''.