ANCHORED PCR CLONING OF THE NOVEL HLA-CW-ASTERISK-0704 ALLELE DETECTED BY PCR-SSP

The novel HLA-Cw0704 allele, previously detected as the PCR-SSP varia nt Cw7/8v, has been cloned and sequenced from the homozygous typing ce ll KRO3/4 after amplification by anchored PCR. The nucleotide sequence of Cw0704 is closely related to those of other Cw*07 alleles, but ca rries specific changes in exon 3 consistent with its serological behav ior - a short Cw7 cross-reactive with antibodies directed against HLA- Cw8. Some of the substitutions of Cw0704 have not been previously des cribed for HLA-C but are found in HLA-B alleles and in published C seq uences of non-human primates. The new allele carries a novel polymorph ism in its 5' untranslated region (5'ut) that could be shared by all C w07 alleles. By PCR-SSP, Cw*0704 is a relatively common allele in Eng lish Caucasoids at a frequency of 4.6%. It is most often observed on H LA-B44 haplotypes previously described as HLA-C ''blank'', although li nkage disequilibria with other HLA-B specificities have been found.