Ne have investigated the frequencies of HLA-B*07 alleles and their haplotyp
ic associations with HLA-A, -C and -DRB1 loci in 489 healthy unrelated Kore
ans, including 214 parents from 107 families. All of the 45 samples (9.2%)
typed as B7 by serology were analyzed for B*07 alleles using polymerase cha
in reaction (PCR)-single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) method Two
different B*07 alleles were detected: B*0702 (allele frequency 0.041) and
B*0705 (0.005). Two characteristic haplotypes showing strong linkage disequ
ilibrium in Koreans were A*2492-Cw*07-B*0702-DRB1*0101 (haplotype frequency
0.028) and A*2901-B*0705 DRB1*0803 (0.005). The characteristic haplotype A
*2901-B*0705-DRB1*0803, found in 100% (5/5) of B*0705-positive individuals,
has not been previously described in other ethnic groups. HLA-B7 alleles c
omprise distinctive extended haplotypes in the Korean population The probab
ility of HLA-B7 allele mismatches among ABDR-matched unrelated donor-recipi
ent pairs is expected to be low in Koreans.