HLASeq™ Panel

RainDance Technologies has developed the industry’s most comprehensive genetic screening panel for human leukocyte antigen (HLA) and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) research. The HLASeq™ Research Screening Panel is a single assay that enables scientists to interrogate the entire HLA super locus (3.8 Mb region) using next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology. Researchers now have access to a cost-effective screening solution to perform haplotyping experiments across the entire HLA region.

The HLA super locus is one of the most complex regions in the human genome due to the extreme levels of polymorphism and linkage disequilibrium. The region contains more than 200 protein-coding genes that play key roles in immune function and defense¹ with over 6,000 named alleles². Although many individual autoimmune diseases are rare, collectively they affect millions of individuals around the world³ Systematic mapping of HLA-associations discovered for common diseases can only be done with DNA sequencing but current cost and technology constraints have made it difficult for researchers to detect many of the important disease-specific susceptibility and protective markers. Whole-genome sequencing is expensive and not conducive to large cohort studies; hybridization-based sequence enrichment methods and whole-exome sequencing often lack the required genomic coverage and specificity to selectively target and capture all of the genes and their 5’ promoter and 3’ untranslated regions (UTRs). The RainDance HLASeq panel provides the most extensive coverage of the MHC genes, enabling comprehensive cataloging of variation in HLA-associated complex disorders without interference of closely related sequences across the genome.

The RainDance HLASeq™ Panel Advantage

• Sequence entire HLA super locus efficiently: Target both the introns and exons from more than 200 genes from this region in a single assay.
• Interrogate challenging regions of the genome: Overcome the highly polymorphic regions of the HLA super locus with unique primer pairs generated by RainDance’s powerful primer design algorithm.
• Discover more disease-causing mutations: Gain unprecedented and unbiased single-base resolution of both common and rare genomic mutations across the entire HLA super locus.
• Eliminate traditional PCR bias: Single-molecule PCR ensures no competition between alleles, which reduces allelic dropout often associated with bulk PCR techniques.
• Optimize sequencer capacity and increase sample throughput: Reduce amount of sequencing required to type alleles across the entire locus with greater PCR uniformity and specificity.
• Achieve haploid DNA representation within each PCR droplet: Generate accurate phasing between different alleles.
• Apply next-generation sequencing technology more routinely: Generate accurate, consistent and reproducible data at a fraction of the overall sample cost compared to Sanger sequencing.
• Accelerate time to results with a simple workflow: Leverage fully automated instrumentation and intuitive analysis workflow to decrease overall processing time to less than 8 hours compared to multi-day hybridization-based enrichment methods.

Comprehensive Content

The RainDance HLASeq™ Research Screening Panel utilizes NGS technology to offer a comprehensive coverage of this important region of the genome. This includes all Class I (HLA – A, B, C, E, F, G, K and L) and Class II (HLA – DMA, DOA, DPA, DQA, DRA, DMB, DOB, DPB1, DQ1B1, DQB2, DRB1, 3, 4 and 5) genes. Coverage spans all of the exons and introns for the genes found within this contiguous locus. The HLASeq panel is a single powerful assay that allows researchers to type across the entire region in an unbiased fashion to interrogate known variants and discover more disease causing mutations.

*The RainDance HLASeq™ Research Screening Panel is for research use only. Not for diagnostic purposes.

References

1. vega.sanger.ac.uk/Homo_sapiens/Location/Chromosome?r=6-COX
2. www.ebi.ac.uk/imgt/hla/stats.html
3. report.nih.gov/biennialreport0607