Rapid typing of the human neutrophil antigen 1a by the particle gel agglutination assay

The human neutrophil antigen 1a (HNA-1a) plays a major role in immune neutropenias and transfusion-associated lung injury. In this study, we describe a simple and rapid particle gel agglutination assay (PaGIA) for HNA-1a phenotyping. A commercially available monoclonal antibody (MoAb) to HNA-1a was biotinylated and coupled onto superparamagnetic streptavidin particles. Diluted anticoagulated whole blood samples from healthy blood donors ( n  = 147) were incubated with MoAb-coated particles, washed, transferred into an ID-gel card, and, subsequently, centrifuged. HNA-1a-positive samples resulted in a visible agglutination of the particles on top of the gel column and could be evaluated macroscopically. The results obtained by the new test were identical with those obtained by the polymerase chain reaction–sequence-specific priming technique that was performed in parallel. Seventy-four (50.3%) of the 147 samples were found to be HNA-1a positive. The HNA-1a PaGIA is both simple and safe and can be implemented in various laboratory settings.