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Polymorphisms of killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) and HLA ligands in northeastern Thais

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Abstract

Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) are cell surface receptors on natural killer (NK) cells and subsets of T cells. The functions of NK cells are partly regulated by interactions between KIRs and HLA ligands on target cells. In this study, the presence or absence of 17 KIR genes and their known HLA ligands have been investigated in 235 unrelated individuals living in northeastern Thailand (NET). Subtypes of KIR2DS4 including full length (KIR2DS4F) and deleted forms (KIR2DS4D) have also been determined. Framework genes (KIR2DL4, 3DL2, 3DL3, and 3DP1) were found in all individuals and KIR genes belonging to the A haplotype (KIR2DL1, 2DL3, 3DL1, and 2DS4) were present in more than 90 % of NET. KIR2DS4D (61.7 %) was more common than KIR2DS4F (52.8 %). A total of 33 different KIR genotypes were observed. Of these, three new genotypes were identified. The most common genotype (AA) was observed in 35.7 % of NET, and HLA-C alleles bearing the C1 epitope (HLA-C1) had the highest frequency (97 %). All individuals had at least one inhibitory KIR and its corresponding HLA ligand; 40.9 % of NET had three pairs of receptor–ligand combinations, and 18.3 % had all three receptor–ligand combinations of KIR2DL3+C1, 3DL1+Bw4, and 3DL2+A11. Surprisingly, the patterns of KIR gene frequencies in NET are more similar to those of Caucasians than Japanese, Korean, and Chinese. This is the first report on complete analysis of KIR and known HLA ligands in Thais. These data provide basic knowledge on KIR for further studies on disease associations and transplantation in northeastern Thais.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Office of the Higher Education Commission, Thailand, through a Ph.D. scholarship (231/2551) to SC and CL. We also wish to acknowledge the support of the Centre for Research and Development of Medical Diagnostic Laboratories, Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Khon Kaen University and the Higher Education Research Promotion and National Research University Project of Thailand, Office of the Higher Education Commission, through the Center of Excellence in Specific Health Problems in Greater Mekong Sub-region Cluster (SHeP-GMS) (NRU542022), Khon Kaen University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biomedical Sciences Program, Graduate School, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, 40002, Thailand

    Suwit Chaisri

  2. The Centre for Research and Development of Medical Diagnostic Laboratories (CMDL), Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, 40002, Thailand

    Suwit Chaisri, Kriengkrai Kitcharoen, Amornrat V. Romphruk, Arunrat Romphruk & Chanvit Leelayuwat

  3. Department of Clinical Microscopy, Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, 40002, Thailand

    Kriengkrai Kitcharoen

  4. Blood Transfusion Center, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, 40002, Thailand

    Amornrat V. Romphruk

  5. Department of Clinical Immunology and Transfusion Sciences, Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, 40002, Thailand

    Chanvit Leelayuwat

  6. Department of Clinical Immunology, PathWest Royal Perth Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, 6001, Australia

    Campbell S. Witt

  7. School of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia, 6009, Australia

    Campbell S. Witt

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  1. Suwit Chaisri
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Correspondence to Chanvit Leelayuwat.

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Chaisri, S., Kitcharoen, K., Romphruk, A.V. et al. Polymorphisms of killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIRs) and HLA ligands in northeastern Thais. Immunogenetics 65, 645–653 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00251-013-0716-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00251-013-0716-7

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