A study of HLA matching in unrelated donor transplant outcomes has demonstrated a significant association between HLA-DPB1 allele mismatches and increased incidence of acute GVHD and lower overall survival. This study of 161 unrelated donor transplant recipients also showed that a mismatch at amino acid position 69 significantly increased the risk for transplant-related mortality. Risk factors for acute GVHD also included mismatches at positions 8, 9, 35, 76 and 84. The authors note that their study is the first to demonstrate an in vivo effect of single amino acid mismatches on hematopoietic cell transplant outcomes.
Ludajic K, et al. Br J Haematol 2008; 142(3): 436-443. (More)