First report on the antibody verification of MICA epitopes recorded in the HLA epitope registry

Summary The International Registry of HLA Epitopes (http://epregistry.com.br) has been recently established as a tool to understand antibody responses to HLA mismatches. These epitopes are defined structurally by three-dimensional molecular modelling and amino acid sequence differences between HLA antigens. A major goal was to identify HLA epitopes that have been verified experimentally with informative antibodies. This report addresses the identification of MICA epitopes. Our analysis included published information about MICA antibody reactivity in sera from sensitized patients as well as data from our own laboratories. This report describes twenty-one MICA epitopes verified with antibodies which have primarily been tested in Luminex assays with single alleles. The epitopes correspond to distinct eplets that are often defined by single residues. The Registry is still a work-in-progress and will become a useful resource for HLA professionals interested in histocompatibility testing at the epitope level and investigating antibody responses to HLA mismatches in transplant patients.