Identification of the novel HLA allele, HLA-B*40:159, in a Taiwanese hematopoietic stem cell donor and the probable HLA haplotype in an association with B*40:159.

Using a sequence-based typing method, we found a new HLA-B*40 variant, B*40:159, in a Taiwanese hematopoietic stem cell donor. The sequence of B*40:159 is identical to the sequence of B*40:06:01:01 in exons 2 and 3 except the nucleotides at positions 412 (A → G) and 429 (A → C). The sequence variation caused two amino acid exchanges at residue 114 (N → D) and residue 116 (Y → S). The probable HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C and HLA-DRB1 haplotype in association with B*40:159 may be deduced as HLA-A*02:06-B*40:159-C*08:01-DRB1*08:03. The generation of B*40:159 is thought as the result of a sequence recombination event where B*46:01:01:01, B*15:01:01 or B*15:02:01 donated a minimum length of the DNA sequence from residue 412 to residue 419 to the recipient sequence of B*40:06:01:01.