A simple and economical DRB1 typing procedure combining group specific amplification, DNA heteroduplex and enzyme restriction analysis

A new procedure for HLA-DRB1 typing is proposed. The method combines six group-specific amplifications with heteroduplex analysis and, in some cases, enzyme restriction analysis. This technique, which is as discriminative as oligotyping, is simple, economical and does not require probes. These characteristics make this approach a valid alternative to other HLA genomic typing procedures, especially in those cases such as donor-recipient pairs matching where a small number of samples has to be managed at once.