Rapid HLA-B27 screening with real-time TaqMan PCR: a clinical validation in the Dutch population

Abstract

AbstractHuman leukocyte antigen B27 (HLA-B27) is strongly associated with ankylosing spondylitis. The B27 allele is present in 90% of patients with this disease, whereas it is present in only 9% of Caucasians. Molecular detection of HLA-B27 is traditionally based on allele specific amplification of exon 2 (Olerup method) or exon 3 (Dominguez method) by PCR, followed by gel analysis.We developed a real-time TaqMan PCR based on the Dominguez method with a β-Globin PCR as internal control.A total of 544 clinical samples were used to compare the real-time TaqMan PCR with the traditional Dominguez PCR, the traditional Olerup PCR and a commercial Olerup based HLA-B27 detection kit (With a correct result for 543 out of 544 samples (99.8%), we consider our real-time HLA-B27 PCR is a reliable method to detect HLA-B27 in the Dutch population, with reduced hands-on time and contamination risk compared to traditional PCR methods.