Hla genotyping

1. HLA genotyping
The HLA (human leucocyte antigen) system encodes the major
histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins in humans. These integral cell
membrane glycoproteins are responsible for the regulation of the human
immune system. There are two classes of MHC, i.e., MHC class I and
MHC class II. The HLA gene complex is located on a 3.6 Mb region within
chromosome 6p21. They are the most polymorphic gene family found in
the human genome, with more than 10,000 different HLA alleles reported
to date, thus the capacity to mount an immune response can be
dramatically different between individuals within a cohort selected from a
single population. HLA genes have been strongly implicated in transplant
rejection, autoimmune disease, vaccine pharmacogenomics, cancer,
infectious diseases, and mate selection.
HLA genotyping is the identification of the HLA class I and class II gene
polymorphisms for individuals, which is indispensable for transplant
matching and disease association studies. Unambiguous HLA
genotyping is technically challenging owing to high polymorphism in
various genomic regions. The development of NGS has changed this
landscape of genotyping. High-resolution HLA genotyping by using
PCR and NGS is uniquely able to address limitations of traditional HLA
genotyping and Sanger sequencing assays in patients. It enables robust,
simple, high-quality, and high-throughput analysis of the key HLA genes,
data can be phased to a minimum of 6 digits. Another advantage is that
phasing problem is determined since DNA templates are derived from
single molecules.
Figure 1. The HLA region in Chromosome 6.
Learn more about HLA genotyping at:
https://www.cd-genomics.com/HLA-Typing.html