Raindance has launched the HLASeq Research Screening Panel for human leukocyte antigen (HLA) and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) research using next-generation sequencing technology.
The announcement was made at the annual American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) meeting in Orlando, Florida.
The Raindance HLASeq panel is said to provide the most extensive coverage of genes in the MHC region, enabling comprehensive cataloging of variation in complex HLA-associated disorders without interference from closely related sequences across the genome.
The HLASeq Research Screening Panel is a single assay that enables scientists to interrogate the entire HLA super locus (a 3.8Mb gene-rich region on 6p21.3) with unbiased single-base resolution of both common and rare genomic mutations.
The HLASeq panel tiles amplicons across the entire HLA super locus, providing scientists with the ability to apply next-generation sequencing technology to generate ultra-high-resolution HLA typing.
The HLASeq panel was developed and validated in collaboration with Expression Analysis (EA), a provider of services on the RDT 1000 platform, using Raindance's proprietary primer design methods and microdroplet-based PCR.
The Raindance HLASeq Research Screening Panel utilises next-generation sequencing technology to offer comprehensive coverage of the HLA super locus, including all Class I (HLA-A, -B, -C, -E, -F, -G, -K and -L) and Class II (HLA-DMA, -DOA, -DPA, -DQA, -DRA, -DMB, -DOB, -DPB1, -DQ1B1, -DQB2, as well as DRB1, -3, -4 and -5) genes, as well as several minor HLA antigen genes.
HLASeq's coverage spans all of the exons and introns for the genes found within this contiguous locus.
The panel leverages Raindance's microdroplet-based platform, which produces more than one million picolitre-size droplets - each of which represents a single-molecule PCR reaction - in less than one hour.
The power, simplicity and precision of the Raindance technology enable researchers to solve complex biological questions relating to organ transplantation, as well as autoimmune diseases and forensics.
