Determination of Granulocyte‐Specific Antigens on Neutrophil Fcγ Receptor IIIb by PCR‐Preferential Homoduplex Formation Assay, and Gene Frequencies in the Japanese Population

Abstract

Abstract Background and Objectives: Granulocyte‐specific antigens play an important role in provoking immune neutropenia and transfusion reactions. We developed a new DNA‐typing method, PCR‐preferential homoduplex formation assay (PHFA), to determine granulocyte‐specific antigens on the neutrophil Fcγ receptor IIIb (FcγRIIIb, CD 16b), namely, the NA1, NA2, and SH antigens and their gene frequencies in the Japanese population. Materials and Methods: Four hundred unrelated healthy Japanese blood donors were typed using PCR‐PHFA. To confirm the accuracy of the results of FcγRIIIB genotyping using PCR‐PHFA, PCR‐sequence‐specific primer (SSP) typing and PCR‐restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) typing were carried out in another 20 samples for comparison. Results: The results of PCR‐PHFA typing agreed well with other methods. The frequencies of the FcγRIIIB alleles were 62.2, 37.8, 0 and 0% for NA1, NA2, SH, and ‘NA‐null’, respectively. Conclusion: The PCR‐PHFA method can be semi‐automated easily with computer‐based assignment and is suitable for typing both small and large numbers of samples. In the Japanese population, the frequency of NA1 is about double that in Caucasians (32.5%), and the SH allele is rare.