Abstract: In order to study the frequency distribution of HLA-DRB1 alleles and anti-HLA-DRB1 antibody types in patients with uremia in southern China, the peripheral blood of uremia patients and healthy controls (HCs) was collected, and HLA-DRB1 allele was genotyped via polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific oligonucleotide probes (PCR-SSO). A Luminex system was used to detect the types and frequencies of anti-HLA-DRB1 antibodies in patients undergoing renal transplantation due to uremia. HLAMatchmaker database was used to compare and analyze the epitopes of HLA-DRB1 and their amino-acid sequences. The types and frequencies of HLA alleles and anti-HLA antibodies in patients were analyzed by statistical software. It was found that the frequency of the HLA-DRB1*13 allele in uremia patients was significantly lower than that of HCs (4.33% vs. 13.37%, P<0.001), the frequency of the HLA-DRB1*14 allele was significantly higher than that of HCs (12.01% vs. 4.12%, P<0.001). Among all types of anti-HLA-DRB1 antibodies, the frequency of anti-HLA-DRB1*01/*13/*14 antibodies was significantly lower than that of other anti-HLA-DRB1 antibodies (P<0.05). A common epitope 77T in HLA-DRB1*01/*13/*14 alleles was discovered using HLAMatchmaker database. These indicate that in terms of gene frequency, HLA-DRB1*13 is correlated negatively with uremia prevalence and may have protective effects on individuals. HLA-DRB1*14 is correlated positively with uremia prevalence, and may be a susceptible factor of uremia. Levels of anti-HLA-DRB1*01/ *13/*14 antibodies in uremia patients were significantly lower than those of other anti-HLA-DRB1 antibodies, probably due to the presence of a common epitope 77T. This study will lay the foundation for an in-depth understanding of the relationship between HLA-DRB1 gene and uremia, and provide experimental evidence for elucidating the role of HLA-DRB1 gene in uremia and kidney transplantation.
Key words: uremia; HLA-DRB1; genotyping; antigen epitope; transplantation match
（Acta Laser Biology Sinica, 2021, 30(2): 170-177）