SEQUENCE OF A NEW HLA-DR ALLELE,DRB5*0106

We report here the exon 2 sequence of a new HLA-DRB5 allele, DRB5*0106, that was identified in two volunteer bone marrow donors from the Swiss national registry. This new allele differs from DRB5*0101 by five amino acids at positions 67, 70, 71, 85 and 86. It is associated with DRB1*1501 and DQB1*0602. This unusual DRB1*1501–DRB5*0106 association increases the complexity of the DR2 group, although it appears to be very rare, at least in our population. HLA-DRB5*0106 can be readily detected upon DR generic oligotyping, provided the two probes that mark the major DRB5 subtypes, DRB5*0101 and DRB5*02, respectively, are included in the assay.