Determination of DQB1 alleles using PCR amplification and allele-specific primers

Molecular genotyping of HLA class II genes is commonly carried out using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in combination with sequence-specific oligotyping (PCR-SSO) or a combination of the PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism methods (PCR-RFLP). However, the identification of the DQB1 type by PCR-SSO and PCR-RFLP is very time-consuming which is disadvantageous for the typing of cadaveric organ donors. We have developed a DQB1 typing method using PCR in combination with allele-specific amplification (PCR-ASA), which allows the identification of the 17 most frequent alleles in one step using seven amplification mixtures. PCR allele-specific amplification HLA-DQB1 typing is easy to perform, and the results are easy to interpret in routine clinical practice. The PCR-ASA method is therefore better suited to DQB1 typing for organ transplantation than other methods.