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Fourteen DRB alleles, DRB1*0705, DRB1*11014, DRB1*1134, DRB1*1136, DRB1*1141, DRB1*1335, DRB1*1337, DRB1*1338, DRB1*1342, DRB1*1343, DRB1*1349, DRB1*1510, DRB3*0105, and DRB5*0103, are described. Among them, eleven are variants which differ by only one nucleotide from previously described alleles, including one silent variant (DRB1*11014). Alleles, DRB1*0705, DRB1*1335 and DRB3*0105, display unique sequence motifs that have never been observed in DRB alleles.

The frequencies of alleles in the HLA-DRB1*01 family were determined in each of five US populations from a database of 82,979 individuals. Individuals typed as DR1 (or DRB1*01) comprised between 7.6%-21.3% of the individuals in each population group. Fifty-nine DR1 individuals were randomly selected from each group and subjected to high-resolution DNA typing by polymerase chain reaction using sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes. DRB1*0101 was the most common allele in the Caucasian, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Native American groups while the DRB1*0102 allele was found in the majority of African Americans and Hispanics. DRB1*0103 was present at a similar frequency in all populations. DRB1*0104, DRB1*0105, and DRB1*0106 alleles were not observed.