UHG crossmatching. A comparison with PCR-SSO typing in the selection of HLA-DPB1-compatible bone marrow donors.

The technique of universal heteroduplex generator (UHG) crossmatching has been developed to permit comparison of HLA-DPB1 alleles between two or more individuals. It offers a rapid and simple method of screening prospective bone marrow donors for HLA-DPB1 compatibility with the recipient. We present the nucleotide sequence and describe the method of construction of the DPB1 UHG. To test its effectiveness, 56 patient-bone marrow donor pairs previously HLA-DPB1-typed by PCR-SSO probing, were tested by UHG crossmatching. In 52/56 (93%) pairs there was concordance between PCR-SSO typing and UHG crossmatching. All 32 pairs that were defined as mismatched by PCR-SSO typing were also mismatched by UHG crossmatching. We conclude that UHG crossmatching is a simple, sensitive, and cost effective method of HLA-DPB1 matching for the rapid selection of compatible bone marrow donors.