Genotypic Prevalence of KELL1/KELL2 and KELL3/ KELL4 Blood Group Antigens in four Cities of Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Kell blood group system (KBGS) is a multidimensional and major element in transfusion medicine because Kell antigens are very reactive and vital responses can be observed as a result of mismatched blood. This research work is intended to check the frequency and prevalence of different antibodies (KELL1, KELL2, KELL3, and KELL4) of the KEL gene in the local population of four different cities of Punjab Pakistan. Two hundred volunteers of different ethnic groups were enrolled for blood sampling. A questionnaire was designed to collect the information like gender, age, cast, blood group, and city of origin all the participants of the study. The genomic DNA was extracted by using the phenol-chloroform method and DNA was quantified by using a UV spectrophotometer. Screening for two known variants (C578T, T193M) in exon 6 of KELL1/ KELL2 and (C841T, R281W) in exon 8 of KELL3/KELL4 was performed by using tetra arms PCR. Data was entered in SPSS software and the frequency of contributing factors was calculated followed by cross-tabulation and chi-square analysis. The results showed that the incidence of. KELL2 was 90%, KELL1 was observed only in 7.5%, and heterozygous allele KELL1/KELL2 was reported in only 2.5% of total samples respectively. Similarly, wild-type allele KELL3 was 2.5% and mutant allele KELL4 was 96%, while heterozygous allele KELL3/KELL4 was 1.5% in frequency. Chi-square values of cast and city of origin showed nonsignificant results for both variants while the type of blood group had a significant association with KELL3/KELL4 genotype. Our results are the same as previously reported studies.

Keywords

• Antibodies; Antigen; Kell