#26
DISTRIBUTION OF NATURAL KILLER CELL IMMUNOGLUBULIN-LIKE RECEPTORS (KIR) IN THE LEBANESE POPULATION.
Rami A. Mahfouz MD 1, Roni F. Rayes BS 1, Mona A. Ghasham MLT 1, Rana F. Kalmoni BS,MSc 1, Ghazi S. Zaatari MD 1 and Ali A. Bazarbashi MD,PhD 2. 1 Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon and 2 Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon .
Backgound: Genotypic profiles of the Natural killer cell Immunoglobulin-like Receptors (KIR) have been reported to vary among different ethnic groups. KIR genotyping has not been studied in our population before. Methods: 60 randomly selected unrelated healthy Lebanese individuals had their DNA typed for KIR using SSP technique. Results: 2DL1, 2DL4, 3DL2, 3DL3, and 3DP1*003 were found in 100% of individuals (similar to Koreans and Japanese), 2DL3 frequency (90%) was very close to Greeks and Caucasoids (88% and 92%, respectively), 2DS3 frequency (36.7%) was very similar to that among Greeks (37%), and 2DL2 and 2DS5 frequencies (63.3% and 36.7% respectively) were very similar to South Asians (64% and 37% respectively). Conclusion: Predominance of A haplotype was noted in the Lebanese population with KIR genotype features shared with different ethnic groups.
