Application of the particle gel agglutination assay in the typing of single human leucocyte antigens.

We describe a simple and rapid particle gel agglutination assay (PaGIA) for typing of the human leucocyte antigens (HLA) HLA-A2, HLA-B7 and HLA-B27. Superparamagnetic streptavidin particles were coated with biotinylated monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) to HLA-A2, HLA-B7 and HLA-B27. Anticoagulated whole blood samples from healthy blood donors (n = 118) with known HLA patterns were incubated with MoAb-coated particles, transferred into a standard ID-gel card, and subsequently centrifuged. Samples were evaluated macroscopically, with antigen-positive samples resulting in a visible agglutination reaction. A clear distinction could be made between all positive and negative samples tested. Fifty-seven samples were found to be positive for HLA-A2 (48%), 26 samples for HLA-B7 (22%) and 5 samples for HLA-B27 (4%).