HLA supratypes in an Italian population

A supratype analysis of a North Italian population was performed, using 16 polymorphisms in the HLA region spanning the HLA-A-DP segment. Fourteen supratypes were identified, mostly corresponding to those found in other Caucasoid populations. The degree of their conservation both within the B-DR/DQ region and in the regions telomeric and centromeric from HLA-A and DP was evaluated and linkage disequilibria among several DR and DP alleles were identified. Notably, the degree of association with DP increased when the DR marker was part of a conserved B-DR/DQ supratype. These data are relevant to the definition of the genetic structure of the population and to the prediction of probabilities of histocompatibility matching between unrelated individuals.