DESCRIPTION OF A NEW HLA-E (E-ASTERISK-01031) ALLELE AND ITS FREQUENCY IN THE SPANISH POPULATION

An HLA-E polymorphism study by oligotyping and DNA sequencing was carr ied out in the Spanish population. As a result, a new HLA-E allele (E 01031) initially assigned by polymerase chain reaction oligotyping as E0104 was found. This allele presents a synonymous change at codon 77 (AAT --> AAC; Asn) when compared with the E01032 allele. This positi on is located in the alpha-helix alpha 1-domain) and is involved in th e peptide binding region of the hypothetical HLA-E molecule. Among 60 Spanish individuals, HLA-E0101 presents the highest phenotype frequen cy, followed in decreasing order by E01032, E*01031 (new allele), and E0102. Also, new partial intron 1 and complete intron 2 sequences fr om E0101, E*01031, and E*01032 are described; the sequences are ident ical among the three forms. However, the intron 2 sequence of the E01 02 allele bears a two-base deletion nor found in apes. (C) American So ciety for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, 1997.