HLA-D locus in Israel. Characterization of 14 local HTC's and a population study

Fourteen homozygous typing cells identified in Israel are described. Of these typing cells two were of Ashkenazi and 11 of non-Ashkenazi origin, while the remaining HTC was from an Arab donor. Ten of the 14 HTC's characterized in this manner were offspring of consanguineous marriages; all of them were non-Ashkenari. Nine HTC's express specificities previously recognized in Caucasians, 4 HTC's represent new specificities (J1-J4), and one typing cell was found to be analogous to the Japanese Dw12 (DHO) specificity. The distribution of HLA-D specificities in 120 randomly selected Israelis representing the two main Jewish subpopulations, Ashkenazim and non-Ashkenazim, was studied with the locally defined HTC's. HLA-Dw5 and Dw10 were found to be significantly increased while Dw2 and Dw6 were significantly decreased in Israelis as compared to Caucasians.