Baseline Data and HLA Alleles and Haplotypes Diversity and Panel Reactive Antibody in Kidney Transplant Candidates in Southwest China.

BACKGROUND

To investigate the baseline data characteristic, human leukocyte antigen (HLA) polymorphisms, and panel reactive antibody (PRA) in end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients awaiting kidney transplantation in Southwest China.

METHODS

HLA genotyping was performed using the real-time PCR sequence-specific primer. PRA was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The patients' medical records were extracted from the hospital information database.

RESULTS

A total of 281 kidney transplant candidates with ESKD were analyzed. The average age was 35.7 ± 13.8 years. There were 61.6% patients had hypertension, 40.2% patients had dialysis ≥ 3 times per week, 47.3% patients had moderate or severe anemia, 30.2% patients with albumin < 35 g/L, 49.1% patients had serum ferritin < 200 ng/mL, 40.5% patients had serum calcium in target range (2.23 - 2.80 mmol/L), 43.4% patients had serum phosphate in target range (1.45 - 2.10 mmol/L), and 93.6% patients with parathyroid hormone > 88.00 pg/mL. In total, 15 HLA-A, 28 HLA-B, 15 HLA-DRB1, and 8 HLA-DQB1 allelic groups were identified. The most frequent alleles for each locus were HLA-A*02 (33.63%), HLA-B*46 (14.41%), HLA-DRB1*15 (21.89%), and HLA-DQB1*05 (39.50%). The most frequent haplotypes were HLA-A*33-B*58-DRB1*17-DQB1*02. A total of 9.60% of patients tested positive for PRAs - Class I or Class II.

CONCLUSIONS

The data from this study provide some new insights into baseline data, the distribution of HLA polymorphisms, and PRA results in the population of Southwest China. This is of great significance in this region, and indeed in the country as a whole, in comparison with other populations and in the process of organ transplant allocation.