ABSTRACT
HLA‐B*55:02:18 differs from HLA‐B*55:02:01:01 by one nucleotide substitution at position 963 G > A.
Keywords: HLA‐B*55:02:18, nanopore sequencing, novel allele
The HLA genes are widely acknowledged as one of the most polymorphic genetic systems. Over the past decade, next‐generation sequencing (NGS) has greatly facilitated comprehensive surveys of HLA diversity, leading to the discovery of hundreds of novel alleles [1]. Currently, a total of 9288 HLA‐B alleles have been identified around the world according to the latest version of IPD‐IMGT/HLA Database (Release 3.64, April 2026) [2]. In this report, we describe a novel HLA‐B allele, officially named as HLA‐B*55:02:18 that has been identified in a Chinese platelet donor.
The sample of the donor was originally genotyped for HLA‐A, ‐B, ‐C, ‐DRB1, ‐DQB1 and ‐DPB1 loci using an AllType NGS 11‐loci amplification kit (One Lambda Inc., Canoga Park, CA, USA) and the genotype of the sample was assigned with Type Stream Visual Software version 3.1 (One Lambda Inc., Canoga Park, CA, USA) as previously reported [3]. The sequencing result shows the HLA‐B alleles of the sample as HLA‐B*46:01 and a novel allele. The result of the HLA‐B locus was also confirmed by nanopore sequencing technology using a CWBIO HLA loci amplification kit (CWBIO Biotechnology Co. LTD, Taizhou, China) and the HLA genotype was analysed using NGSengine software 1.2.0 (GenDx, Utrecht, Netherlands).
The sequence of the HLA‐B*55:02:18 allele differs from HLA‐B*55:02:01:01 allele by one single nucleotide substitution at position 963 G > A in exon 5, which is a synonymous change that does not result in an amino acid change (Figure 1). The sequence of the new allele was submitted to GenBank with accession number PV935355. The HLA typing of the individual is HLA‐A*02:07, 24:02; ‐B*46:01, 55:02:18; ‐C*01:02, 01:02; ‐DRB1*12:01:01G, 12:02; ‐DQB1*03:01, 03:01; ‐DPB1*03:01:01G, 05:01:01G.
FIGURE 1.
Alignment of the exon 5 sequence of the HLA‐B*55:02:18 allele with that of the HLA‐B*55:02:01:01 allele. Dashes indicate nucleotide identity with the HLA‐B*55:02:01:01 allele. Numbers above the sequence correspond to codon position.
The name HLA‐B*55:02:18 has been officially assigned by the World Health Organization Nomenclature Committee for Factors of the HLA System in August 2025. This follows the agreed policy that, subject to the conditions stated in the most recent Nomenclature Report [4], name will be assigned to new sequences as they are identified. Lists of such new names will be published in the following WHO Nomenclature Report.
Author Contributions
Zhipan Wu and Fang Wang performed the experiments. Lina Dong and Yanmin He analysed the data. Zhipan Wu and Faming Zhu wrote the paper.
Funding
This work was supported by Medical and Health Science Program of Zhejiang Province (2024KY060, 2025KY757).
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Acknowledgements
This work was sponsored by the Medical and Health Science Program of Zhejiang Province (2024KY060, 2025KY757).
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in the IPD‐IMGT/HLA Database.
References
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Associated Data
This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.
Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in the IPD‐IMGT/HLA Database.