HLA Alloantibodies in Multiparous Women at Abidjan

Serum of multiparous women can contain HLA polyclonal antibodies which can be used as reagents for serological typing of HLA class I and class II. The aim of this study was to investigate an alloimmunization of multiparous women and to identify HLA polyclonal antibodies which could be useful as laboratory reagents in view of the future HLA unit of the Department of Immunology at Abidjan. In an experimental and analytic study, we screened HLA antibodies using microlymphocytotoxicity test on sera of 121 multiparous women aged from 18 to 70 years old, in apparent good health, transfused or no-transfused and with at least two parities. 37.19% of the multiparous women were alloimmunized. 13 women were sensitized to HLA class I, 18 to HLA class II and 14 were both sensitized to class I and class II. Specificity of the screened antibodies was identified at 17.78%. HLA-B7 specificity (Class I) was 37.5% and class II specificity (HLA-DR4, DR7, DR13, DR13+14, DRw52) was 62.5%. Specificity was evaluated by the correlation coefficient. For class I specificity correlation coefficients were ranged from 0.79 to 1, while for class II specificities, correlation coefficients were ranged from 0.54 to 0.9. Screening of HLA antibodies on multiparous women at Abidjan was positive and specificities were determined. This enabled authors to the possibility of using multiparous women sera as a source of production of polyclonal antibodies for serological HLA typing in the HLA unit of the Department of Immunology at Abidjan.