Hemizygous HLA mutants of lymphoblastoid cells: a new cell type for histocompatibility testing.

HLA variants that have lost expression of multiple cis-linked alleles as determined serologically and enzymatically were analyzed for expression of HLA-D PLT-stimulating (PL) determinants using the primed lymphocyte test. All 19 variants that had lost HLA-DRw3 expression simultaneously had lost expression of the HLA-D region-associated PL specificity. PLT cells made by priming to a variant that was hemizygous for HLA genes resulted in priming to HLA-D PL determinants encoded for by just one haplotype, analogous to priming to an HLA homozygous cell.