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Transplantation Immunology pp 239–255Cite as

Gene-Specific PCR Typing of Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-Like Receptors

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Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1034))

Abstract

By interacting with specific HLA class I molecules, the killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) regulate the effector function of natural killer (NK) cells and subsets of CD8 T cells. The KIR receptors and HLA class I ligands are encoded by unlinked polymorphic gene families located on different human chromosomes, 19 and 6, respectively. The number and type of KIR genes are substantially variable between individuals, which may contribute to human diversity in responding to infection, malignancy and allogeneic transplants. PCR typing using sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP) is the most commonly used method to determine KIR gene content. This chapter describes a step-by-step protocol for PCR-SSP typing to identify the presence and absence of all 16 known KIR genes. Moreover, the chapter provides the basic rules to verify the accuracy of KIR genotyping results and explains specific methods for the data analysis.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Translational Research Funds from the UCLA Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine to Dr. Rajalingam. The authors have no conflicts of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UCLA Immunogenetics Center, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Raja Rajalingam

  2. Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

    Elham Ashouri

Authors
  1. Raja Rajalingam
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  2. Elham Ashouri
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Immunogenetics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University School of Medic, E. Monument Street 2041, Baltimore, 21205, Maryland, USA

    Andrea A. Zachary

  2. , Immunogenetics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University School of Medic, E. Monument Street 2041, Baltimore, 21205, Maryland, USA

    Mary S. Leffell

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Rajalingam, R., Ashouri, E. (2013). Gene-Specific PCR Typing of Killer Cell Immunoglobulin-Like Receptors. In: Zachary, A., Leffell, M. (eds) Transplantation Immunology. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1034. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-493-7_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-493-7_12

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-62703-492-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-62703-493-7

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