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Updated: Feb 13, 2026

Personalized Peptide Arrays for Detection of HLA Alloantibodies in Organ Transplantation
Published on: September 6, 2017
Unique case of false-positive pan-HLA-A antibody detection in LABScreen single antigen bead assay
Merschman Jarret1, Barnes Rachel1, Burmeister Lydia1
1Division of Transfusion Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 1st street SW, Rochester MN 55905, USA.
Abstract:
Accurate detection of HLA antibodies is essential for assessing immunologic risk in transplantation. Solid-phase antibody assays (SPA), particularly Luminex-based single-antigen bead (SAB) assay offer high sensitivity, but are prone to false reactions that may lead to clinical misinterpretation. While false-positive pan-locus patterns have been described for HLA-C/DR, pan-HLA-A reactivity has not been previously reported. We present a patient who developed pan-HLA-A reactivity detected by LABScreen™ SAB one year after combined liver-kidney transplantation. Repeat testing and Presorb™ treatment yielded identical results. To investigate causes, testing with acid-treated beads ruled out antibodies to denatured HLA. An alternative SAB platform (LIFECODES® LSA™) and LABScreen™ Mixed beads were negative. Surrogate flow crossmatches with two unrelated donors were negative, confirming absence of cell-reactive antibodies. This represents the first documented case of false-positive pan-HLA-A reactivity confined to a single commercial SAB product. Recognition of such artifacts is essential to prevent misclassification of antibody specificity.
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