HLA Typing With Reference Strand-Mediated Conformation Analysis

Comparison of HLA allelic sequences reveals a patchwork pattern in which individual alleles are defined by unique combinations of sequence motifs. Although each individual motif may be shared with other alleles, only a few alleles have specific sequences that are not present in other alleles (1 ). Thus the main problem facing conventional methods of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing is their inherent inability to determine, in heterozygous individuals, to which allele a particular motif belongs (2 ). To overcome this problem, allele separation must be performed in some samples prior to typing, making the whole procedure technically labor-intensive and time-consuming (3 ,4 ).