EVIDENCE FOR A POLYMORPHISM OF HLA-G GENE

HLA-G gene polymorphism was analyzed by RFLP using seven restriction enzymes and an HLA-G locus-specific probe. Hybridization of 55 DNAs digested with three enzymes (Tag I, Pst I, and Bgl II) revealed two polymorphic bands in each case. RFLP patterns obtained with Tag I and Pst I corresponded to the same allelic polymorphism and differed from the Bgl II polymorphism. Combining both polymorphisms enabled determination of four alleles. Allelic frequencies were calculated: 40% of the subjects tested had allele 1, 36% had allele 2, 22% had allele 3, and 2% had allele 4. Analyzing the complete HLA class I phenotype revealed strong linkage disequilibrium with the HLA-A locus. The polymorphism described is located in the 3' flanking region of the gene. Moreover, extended HLA-A haplotypes were constructed by combining the HLA-G polymorphism with other class-I-sequence polymorphisms.