Alloantibody to a Bw4 Epitope in a Bw4+ B*27

Abstract

A Bw4 patient made antibody to a Bw4 epitope. This finding indicates that apparent anti-Bw4 or anti-Bw6 antibody should not be ignored even in patients who express a common Bw4 or Bw6 antigen, respectively.

Should HLA Mismatch Acceptability for Sensitized Transplant Candidates Be Determined at the High-Resolution Rather Than the Antigen Level?

“…These antibodies recognized a specific epitope defined by 145R paired with the Bw4-associated 82LR. A recent report describes a case of an African-American transplant candidate who typed as B*27:05 and had antibodies against an epitope shared between all Bw4-carrying alleles except B*27:05 and B*44:02 (13). We are aware of other similar findings and all these cases illustrate how difficult it would be if mismatch acceptability were solely determined at the antigen level.…”

Human leukocyte antigen Bw4 and Bw6 epitopes recognized by antibodies and natural killer cells

“…My colleagues and I recently analyzed serum from a Bw4 + B*27:05 patient that recognized nearly all Bw4 + molecules tested, including HLA-A Bw4 + proteins [9]. Bw4 epitope specificity was suggested by reactivity with Bw4 + B*49:01, but not Bw6 + B*50:01, molecules that differ only at amino acid residues 77 and 80–83.…”