DETECTION OF HLA-A-ASTERISK-24 NULL ALLELES BY DNA TYPING METHODS

A number of cases have been identified (seven unrelated individuals fr om the Northern Ireland bone marrow donor registry and two family grou ps) where an HLA-A24 allele fails to express the normal HLA-A24 antig en. Family information has revealed common haplotypes with respect to each non-expressed allele indicating that the occurrence of these muta tions has been a recent event. Two methods for the clinical typing of these alleles have been evaluated - PCR-SSOP and PCR-SSCP analysis.