Alleles for two HLA class II genes, HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1, were fully resolved to their 4-digit designations in all but three of the 784 Zambians.
Briefly, alleles (4-digit designations) and allele groups (2-digit designations) from the three HLA class I genes were first amplified by locus-specific primer mixes and then classified after automated hybridization to sequence-specific oligonucleotide (SSO) probes (Innogenetics, Alpharetta, Georgia, USA).
New patterns were added to the database and assigned consecutive 5-digit designations.
To simplify database entries, the CDC database manager assigned consecutive arbitrary 4-digit designations to the octal designations.
Second, alleles with four-digit designations (e.g., DRB1*0101, *0102, and *0103) define functional units that differ in amino acid sequences and the protein structure.
However, only DRB1*1101 had multiple common alleles with different six-digit designations (i.e., *110101 and *110102) in the study population.
Following resolution of individual HLA alleles at each locus, linkage disequilibrium (LD) between specific HLA allele groups (two-digit designations) and alleles (four-digit designations) at neighboring loci were determined by relative difference (D′) between the observed and expected frequencies of co-existence (presence) on the same chromosome or by correlation coefficients (r).
First, allele groups defined by the first two-digit designations (e.g., DRB1*01) often correspond to serological specificities (as alloantigens) (Schreuder et al. 2005) or shared motifs and lineages (Agrawal et al. 2007; Bergstrom et al. 1999; Dorak et al. 2006; Hohjoh et al. 2003).
All such ATX and ATX II tires are being recalled, but only those Wilderness AT tires that also have a Transportation Department 10-digit designation starting with the letters VD are being recalled.
The recall includes all of Firestone's ATX and ATX II tires for 15-inch wheels, as well as Wilderness tires of the same size with a Department of Transportation 10-digit designation starting with the letters VD; these latter tires are the ones made at the Decatur plant.
For statistical analysis, each HLA allele of each individual was assigned a two-digit designation.
