Molecular Genetic and Serologic Analysis of the O allele in the Korean Population
10.17945/kjbt.2019.30.2.124
- Author:
Ja Young LEE
1
;
Sae Am SONG
;
Seung Hwan OH
Author Information
1. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea. paracelsus@pusan.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Isoagglutinin titer;
O allele;
non-deletional O allele;
Sequence analysis
- MeSH:
Agglutination;
Alleles;
Base Sequence;
Clone Cells;
Cloning, Organism;
Exons;
Immunoglobulin G;
Immunoglobulin M;
Molecular Biology;
Sequence Analysis
- From:Korean Journal of Blood Transfusion
2019;30(2):124-137
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
BACKGROUND: The recent expansion of knowledge about various ABO alleles has led to the need for a comprehensive measure to cover the numerous polymorphisms dispersed in the ABO gene. A few studies have examined the diversity of the O allele compared to A or B subgroup alleles, resulting in antigenic changes. This study investigated the relationship between the serologic and molecular genetic characteristics of the O alleles in the Korean population. METHODS: One hundred and five samples from healthy blood group O subjects were selected randomly. The isoagglutinin titer was measured using a tube agglutination and gel microcolumn assay. The ABO alleles were analyzed by sequencing exons 6 and 7 of the ABO gene. When the origin of a heterozygous nucleotide sequence was ambiguous, it was separated into a single allele using mono-allele amplification or cloning. RESULTS: The median IgM isoagglutinin titer was eight. In contrast, the median IgG anti-A and anti-B isoagglutinin titers were 64 and 32, respectively. The IgG isoagglutinin titer showed a significant increase with age (P<0.0001). Six O alleles were observed in 105 blood group O populations by sequencing. The O01 and O02 alleles were common (0.57, 0.36). Three rare O alleles (O04, O05, and O06) and one novel non-deletional O allele were found. CONCLUSION: The distribution of isoagglutinin titers of blood group O and the genetic frequency of O alleles in this study would form the basis of the development and interpretation of ABO genotyping and serologic workup in the Korean population.