BioCentury
ARTICLE | Tools & Techniques

HLA in sequence

June 7, 2012 7:00 AM UTC

A group of Australian researchers and an FDA-led team have independently identified a mechanism behind human leukocyte antigen allele-mediated autoimmune reactions to certain drugs.1,2 The findings could expand the use of human leukocyte antigen genotyping in clinical trials, patient care and drug design to improve therapeutic outcomes and safety.

Meanwhile, a team from Stanford University has published a new technology that could improve the accuracy and reduce the cost of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genotyping.3 Improved HLA genotyping technology could help facilitate patient screening for known drug-HLA interactions and could help identify new interactions (see Box 1, "Human leukocyte antigen genotyping")...