Human Leukocyte Antigen-C Genotype and Killer Immunoglobulin-like Receptor-Ligand Matching in Korean Living Donor Liver Transplantation.
- Author:
Hyeyoung LEE
1
;
Ki Hyun PARK
;
Hye Sun PARK
;
Ji Hyeong RYU
;
Jihyang LIM
;
Yonggoo KIM
;
Gun Hyung NA
;
Dong Goo KIM
;
Eun Jee OH
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords: Killer immunoglobulin-like receptors; HLA-C; KIR-ligand mismatch; Liver transplantation; Allograft outcome
- MeSH: Adult; Alleles; Asian Continental Ancestry Group/*genetics; Female; Genotype; Graft Rejection; Graft Survival; HLA-C Antigens/*genetics; Homozygote; Humans; Killer Cells, Natural/cytology/immunology; Ligands; *Liver Transplantation; Male; Middle Aged; Proportional Hazards Models; Receptors, KIR/chemistry/*genetics/metabolism; Republic of Korea; Tissue Donors; Transplantation, Homologous
- From:Annals of Laboratory Medicine 2017;37(1):45-52
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: BACKGROUND: The interaction between killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) and HLA class I regulates natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity and function. The impact of NK cell alloreactivity through KIR in liver transplantation remains unelucidated. Since the frequency of HLA-C and KIR genotypes show ethnic differences, we assessed the impact of HLA-C, KIR genotype, or KIR-ligand mismatch on the allograft outcome of Korean liver allografts. METHODS: One hundred eighty-two living donor liver transplant patients were studied. Thirty-five patients (19.2%) had biopsy-confirmed acute rejection (AR), and eighteen (9.9%) had graft failure. The HLA-C compatibility, KIR genotypes, ligand-ligand, and KIR-ligand matching was retrospectively investigated for association with allograft outcomes. RESULTS: Homozygous C1 ligands were predominant in both patients and donors, and frequency of the HLA-C2 allele in Koreans was lower than that in other ethnic groups. Despite the significantly lower frequency of the HLA-C2 genotype in Koreans, donors with at least one HLA-C2 allele showed higher rates of AR than donors with no HLA-C2 alleles (29.2% vs 15.7%, P=0.0423). Although KIR genotypes also showed ethnic differences, KIR genotypes and the number of activating KIR/inhibitory KIR were not associated with the allograft outcome. KIR-ligand mismatch was expected in 31.6% of Korean liver transplants and had no impact on AR or graft survival. CONCLUSIONS: This study could not confirm the clinical impact of KIR genotypes and KIR-ligand mismatch. However, we demonstrated that the presence of HLA-C2 allele in the donor influenced AR of Korean liver allografts.
