KIR Typing by Non-Sequencing Methods: Polymerase-Chain Reaction with Sequence-Specific Primers

The killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR), which enable NK cells to detect allogeneic target cells and abnormalities in the expression of self-HLA molecules, are encoded by genes that display extensive copy number variation. These variations in the KIR genotype are relevant for multiple aspects of human health, including therapy of cancer. PCR with sequence-specific primers (SSP) is simplest and most widely used among techniques for studying KIR genotypes. Here, we present a protocol that details the critical steps of a method for KIR genotyping by PCR-SSP.