A new human leukocyte antigen (HLA) allele, identified by Dr. Li Jianping with Liaoning Blood Center in NE China, has been named by the WHO Nonmenclature Committee for the HLA System as HLA-A*2451. It is No. AY904343 in the gene database.

Li said the discovery may help to increase the success rates of organ transplants and marrow transplants, and is great news for human immunogentics science.

HLA is a kind of antigen of the white blood cells. Doctors rely on an HLA antigen system that gauges how well donated tissue matches the patient's immune system. The more HLA matches there are, the greater the success rate of transplants.

The gene sequence Li identified will be reported in the upcoming issues of Tissue Antigens, Human Immunology and the European Journal of Immunogentics, the WHO committee told Li.

Li found the gene in the blood sample of a young man who donated haematogenous stem cells in Liaoning Province. Further testing is needed to determine whether the identified gene is inherited or a genetic mutation and how many Chinese people carry it, Li said.

By early 2005, scientists have identified 1,013 HLA alleles, 70percent of which were identified by American scientists and 10 percent by Chinese scientists.

(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2005)