C1q-binding anti-HLA antibody assay: A test dilemma

Abstract

Detection of donor-specific anti-HLA antibodies in patients with kidney graft, or awaiting kidney graft, acts as a predictor for antibody mediated rejection. Several methods are in practice for the detection of anti-HLA antibodies; including the latest introduction of C1q-binding anti-HLA antibody method. This method depends on detecting complement fixing anti-HLA antibodies on single antigen beads using C1q as the marker for the presence of those antibodies. Here we discuss recent data on this method and present a working hypothesis for explaining the inability of this method to detect low titer anti-HLA antibodies.