Gene frequencies of the HPA-1 platelet antigen alleles in the Lebanese population.

The objective was to study the gene frequencies of HPA-1 in the Lebanese population for the first time. The aims of this study were to assess the prevalence of 1a and 1b HPA-1 alleles in healthy Lebanese individuals and compare with the international literature. Human platelet antigen (HPA) systems are involved in alloimmunization, organ transplantation rejection and the development of cardiovascular disease. Of several classified HPA systems, HPA-1 specifically has been considered to be the most important antigenic system implicated in the Caucasian population. This specific gene has never been investigated in our population. DNA was extracted from specimens collected from 205 healthy unrelated Lebanese individuals and tested, using a reverse hybridization polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay, for the prevalence of 1a and 1b HPA-1 alleles. Genotypes 1a/1a, 1a/1b, and 1b/1b were assigned accordingly. We observed that the 1a/1a genotype was the most prevalent (65.85%) followed by 1a/1b (30.24%) and 1b/1b (3.91%) with allelic frequencies for 1a and 1b of 0.81 and 0.19, respectively. As compared with other ethnic groups, the Lebanese population was found to have a relatively high prevalence of the HPA-1b, which may predispose to a higher risk of alloimmunization. This report is the first to study the prevalence of the HPA-1 system in the Lebanese population and serves as a template for future clinical research involving platelet disorders and cardiovascular diseases.