The HLA- DRB1*11 group-specific allele is a predictor for alloantibody production in transfusion dependent thalassemia patients

Abstract Background and Objectives Recently, researchers have shown an increased interest in thalassemia for detecting susceptible factors in alloimmunization development. Alloimmunization, especially against Rh and Kell blood, occurs in 30% of thalassemic patients. The aim of this study is to determine the role of HLA-DRB1*11 and HLA-DRB1*13 group-specific alleles in the production of Rh and Kell alloantibodies. Materials and Methods 106 thalassemic patients were recruited for this study (54 responders and 52 non-responders). Responder patients developed Rh and Kell specificities alloantibodies. HLA genotyping was done with Sequence-Specific Primers (SSP-PCR) and the result compared between two groups. Results The significant difference was found between responder and non-responder groups in DRB1*11 (P = 0.031, OR = 2.546; 95%CI). Development of Anti-K and Anti-E alloantibodies were associated with DRB1*11 (P = 0.021, OR = 2.546, 95%CI) (P = 0.049, OR = 2.304, 95%CI), respectively. Further analysis showed that DRB1*11 is more frequent in multi responders (responder with both Rh and Kell alloantibodies) than mono-responder, 71% Versus 29%. There was not found an association between the DRB1*13 group-specific allele and the production of alloantibodies (P = 0.584, OR = 0.308, 95%CI). Conclusions This study has identified that detecting DRB1*11 frequency in alloimmunized thalassemic patients. The evidence from this study suggests that detecting the DRB1*11 group-specific allele before starting transfusion can be useful to identify susceptible patients, increase HSCT transplantation compatibility and blood transfusion management.