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Updated: Aug 16, 2026

Personalized Peptide Arrays for Detection of HLA Alloantibodies in Organ Transplantation
Published on: September 6, 2017
HLA-B specificities and w4, w6 specificities are on the same polypeptide
The human alloantigenic specificities w4 and w6, which are products of a diallelic system genetically associated with the HLA-B locus, have been solubilized by papain digestion of membranes from the lymphoblastoid cell line, RPMI 4265. The w4 and w6 specificities copurified with the HLA-B locus products, HLA-B7 and HLA-B12. Sequential immunoprecipitation experiments were performed using alloantisera to HLA-B7, HLA-B12, w4 and w6, and a purified HLA-B7, B12, w4, w6 antigen pool labeled with 125I-Bolton-Hunter reagent. These experiments demonstrated directly that HLA-B7 and w6, which are genetically associated with each other, are different antigenic determinants on the same molecule, while HLA-B12 and w4, also genetically associated, are distinct antigenic determinants on a second molecule. Arguments are presented which suggest that the HLA-B determinants and w4, w6 determinants are in fact on the same polypeptide, and the genetic implications of the findings are discussed.
The human alloantigenic specificities w4 and w6, which are products of a diallelic system genetically associated with the HLA-B locus, have been solubilized by papain digestion of membranes from the lymphoblastoid cell line, RPMI 4265. The w4 and w6 specificities copurified with the HLA-B locus products, HLA-B7 and HLA-B12. Sequential immunoprecipitation experiments were performed using alloantisera to HLA-B7, HLA-B12, w4 and w6, and a purified HLA-B7, B12, w4, w6 antigen pool labeled with 125I-Bolton-Hunter reagent. These experiments demonstrated directly that HLA-B7 and w6, which are genetically associated with each other, are different antigenic determinants on the same molecule, while HLA-B12 and w4, also genetically associated, are distinct antigenic determinants on a second molecule. Arguments are presented which suggest that the HLA-B determinants and w4, w6 determinants are in fact on the same polypeptide, and the genetic implications of the findings are discussed.
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