HLA-B27 testing in Thai patients using the PCR-SSP technique

Area of Science:

• Immunogenetics
• Molecular Diagnostics

Background:

• The Human Leukocyte Antigen B27 (HLA-B27) gene is associated with various autoimmune diseases.
• Accurate and efficient detection of HLA-B27 is crucial for diagnosis and patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a Polymerase Chain Reaction Sequence Specific Primer (PCR-SSP) based test kit for the detection of HLA-B27.
• To evaluate the performance of the developed PCR-SSP kit compared to the gold standard microlymphocytotoxicity test (LCT).

Main Methods:

• Development of an in-house HLA-B27 test kit utilizing the PCR-SSP technique.
• Testing of 540 blood samples using both the newly developed PCR-SSP kit and the established LCT method.

Main Results:

• The PCR-SSP method identified 134 (24.8%) HLA-B27 positive samples, compared to 127 (23.5%) by LCT.
• The PCR-SSP kit demonstrated high sensitivity (94.8%) and perfect specificity (100%) against the LCT method.
• Excellent concordance (98.7%), positive predictive value (100%), and negative predictive value (98.3%) were observed for the PCR-SSP test.

Conclusions:

• The developed PCR-SSP test kit is a simple, convenient, and cost-effective method for HLA-B27 detection.
• PCR-SSP offers a reliable alternative for in-house HLA-B27 testing in clinical laboratories.
• This validated kit can aid in the timely diagnosis of HLA-B27 associated conditions.