Frequency of HLA-A alleles in the Syrian population genotyped by sequence-based typing

HLA-A molecules are highly polymorphic. Their accurate typing at a high-resolution level is crucial for successful organ, bone marrow and cord blood transplantation. Furthermore, several HLA alleles have been involved in susceptibility to autoimmune diseases, allergies, cancers and inflammations. In order to determine common HLA-A alleles in Syria and their frequencies, sequence-based typing (SBT) was used to genotype HLA-A alleles at high resolution (four digit level) among one hundred and thirty randomly selected Syrian individuals. Exons 2, 3 and 4 of the HLA-A gene were amplified by PCR and sequenced. The sbt-engine software was used for allele assignment. Ambiguities were solved using group-specific sequencing primers (GSSPs). We could identify 32 different HLA-A alleles which were divided into 3 groups: high frequency (approximately 10%, A*01:01; A*24:02; A*03:01; A*02:01), moderate frequency (approximately 3%, such as A*02:05, A*31:01 and A*33:01), and low frequency (approximately 1%, such as A*02:11, A*29:01, A*02:02 and A*36:01). Homozygosity rate was higher than expected (11.5% vs. 7.15%). For high frequency alleles, our results show similarity to neighbouring countries. However, 15 alleles (such as A*02:04, A*02:06, A*02:11 and A*02:17) found in our cohort in low frequencies were never reported in some or all neighbouring countries. This is the first report on HLA-A allele frequencies in Syria. In spite of the relatively low number of tested subjects, our results revealed a high degree of diversity, with 32 different alleles, reflecting the high ethnic heterogeneity of the Syrian population. The identification of alleles rarely or never reported in neighbouring countries indicates a higher genetic diversity in Syria.