HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DPB1 gene polymorphisms in the Japanese populations

Highly polymorphic HLA systems have greatly contributed to paternity testing and personal identification in forensic work. Recently HLA alleles in the class II region has been identified easily at the nucleotide level using PCR method. The PCR procedure involves the PCR-SSO (sequence specific oligonucleotide) method and the modified PCR-RFLP method (1). Those two methods permit precise and direct analysis of allelic variations by using less than 1 ng of DNA. The modified PCR-RFLP method provides a simpler and more rapid technique for accurate definition of the HLA-class II alleles. In this study, HLA-DQA1 and -DPB1 alleles were defined in 150 unrelated healthy Japanese individuals using the modified PCR-RFLP method. Exclusion probability (EP) was calculated from the allele frequencies of DQA1 and DPB1 obtained in this population.