Identification of a novel allele, HLA-B * 54: 26

Objective: To identify a novel HLA-B allele in Chinese Han population. Methods: No full matched result was obtained in HLA-B locus in HLA typing for China marrow donor program (CMDP) using bi-allelic sequence-based typing (SBT). A confirmatory test for novel HLA allele was performed with mono-allelic SBT. Results: B * 15: 05: 01 was confirmed and another allele should be a B * 54new. The B * 54new has 2 nt changes from the closest matching HLA-B * 54: 01: 01 at nt 559, 560 where AC → GA(codon163 ACG → GAG), led to a coding change, 163T → E. Conclusion: A novel HLA-B allele was confirmed and officially named HLA-B * 54: 26 under the Genbank Accession number JN209963 by the WHO Nomenclature Committee for Factors of the HLA System in February 2012. Copyright © 2012 by the Chinese Medical Association.