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Background All antigens described in the KN blood group system are located in the long homologous repeat D (LHR‐D) of complement receptor 1 (CR1). While there have been reports that some sera react only with the long homologous repeat C (LHR‐C), the antigens in LHR‐C are unknown. Study Design and Methods Recombinant LHR‐C and LHR‐D were used to identify antibodies directed against LHR‐C of CR1, into which a point mutation was introduced to characterize the underlying blood group antigens. In addition, database studies to define haplotypes of CR1 were performed. Results Several antisera were identified that were specific against CR1 p.1208His and against CR1 p.1208Arg, located in LHR‐C. Fifteen KN haplotypes were found in the Ensembl genome browser. It was shown that due to a linkage disequilibrium anti‐CR1 p.1208His may be mistaken for anti‐KCAM. Conclusion A novel antithetical KN blood group antigen pair was found at position p.1208 of CR1, for which the names DACY and YCAD are proposed. Antibodies against these two novel antigens seem to contribute to more than a quarter of all KN sera in Europe.

Integrins are a large family of heterodimeric proteins that are involved in cell adhesion, migration, and proliferation. Integrin diversity and function is regulated by alternative splicing. Membrane-bound and truncated β3-integrins were shown to be key players in cancer metastasis. However, the immunomodulatory functions of the soluble (s) β3-integrin have not been investigated yet. In this study, we described a novel form of sβ3-integrin in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) patients. Furthermore, we assessed the role of the sβ3-integrin in the modulation of natural killer (NK)-cell activity. Levels of sβ3-integrin were analysed in plasma samples of 23 AML patients and 26 healthy donors by ELISA. The capacity of sβ3-integrin to regulate NK cell activity was investigated using proliferation, cytokine secretion, and cytotoxicity assays. Circulating sβ3-integrin was detected in the plasma of 8 AML patients. NK cells showed significantly higher proliferation rates after stimulation with sβ3-integrin and IL-2, IL-15 (73%). Significant increases in the NK cells’ secreted levels of TNF-α, IFN-γ were measured in presence of sβ3-integrin. In addition, sβ3-integrin caused the upregulation of Granzyme B transcripts levels as well as FasL expression levels in NK cells. Most importantly, significantly higher K562 or AML blast target cell lysis rates were observed when NK cells were exposed to sβ3-integrin. This study reports the identification of a novel sβ3-integrin in AML patients and provides novel insights into its role in the immunomodulation of NK cell activity.

Background:The Rh blood group system is the second most clinically significant blood group system. It includes 49 antigens, but only five (D, C, E, c and e) are the most routinely identified due to their unique relation to hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN) and transfusion reactions. Frequency of the Rh alleles showed variation, with regard to race and ethnic.Objectives:The purpose of the study was to document the Rh alleles’ frequencies amongst males (M) and females (F) in Gaza city in Palestine.Materials and Methods:Two hundred and thirty-two blood samples (110 M and 122 F) were tested against monoclonal IgM anti-C,anti-c, anti-E, anti-e and a blend of monoclonal/polyclonal IgM/IgG anti-D. The expected Rh phenotypes were calculated using gene counting method.Results:The most frequent Rh antigen in the total sample was e, while the least frequent was E.The order of the combined Rh allele frequencies in both M and F was CDe > cDe > cde > CdE > cDE > Cde > CDE. A significant difference was reported between M and F regarding the phenotypic frequencies (P < 0.05). However, no significance (P > 0.05) was reported with reference to the observed and expected Rh phenotypic frequencies in either M or F students.Conclusion:It was concluded that the Rh antigens, alleles and phenotypes in Gaza city have unique frequencies, which may be of importance to the Blood Transfusion Center in Gaza city and anthropology.